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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24990091">TID/TDA One-Shots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/liviadovehallow/pseuds/liviadovehallow'>liviadovehallow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, One Shot Collection</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 03:01:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,827</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24990091</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/liviadovehallow/pseuds/liviadovehallow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Short stories based on some of my all-time favorite characters from the Shadowhunter Chronicles</p><p>**Some are based in canon, others are not.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cecily Herondale/Gabriel Lightwood, Julian Blackthorn/Emma Carstairs, Sophie Collins/Gideon Lightwood, Tessa Gray/Will Herondale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Livia's Wedding (Julian & Livvy Blackthorn)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>[Originally posted on my Tumblr]</p><p>He had always dreaded this day.</p><p>Julian stood before a mirror, gazing at his suit, thinking about his first memories with the twins. How Helen and Mark had shown him how to find his way around the Institute on his own so he did the same for Ty and Livvy. How Livvy laughed when he managed to get them lost in the library.</p><p>He also remembered when he almost lost her forever.</p><p>“Jules?”</p><p>Emma appeared behind him, smiling softly. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Julian breathed slowly and smoothed his jacket. “Yeah. How do I look?”</p><p>“Like a dream.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek softly. “So does Livvy.”</p><p>He smiled sadly, hearing Livvy’s voice ringing in his head the day she came home after her final fitting. <em>Jules, my dress is done and it’s beautiful!</em> His heart hurt.</p><p>“I knew this day would come, but why did it have to be so soon?” He asked Emma. “I can’t lose her again.”</p><p>“You won’t,” Emma whispered, turning his head to look at her. “You did your job. She’s alive and she’s happy. Matthew treats her like she is the queen of the world and you know it.”</p><p>“As he should,” Julian responded immediately. “But that doesn’t mean I’m ready.”</p><p>“Hey, once a Blackthorn always a Blackthorn.” Emma twisted the Blackthorn family ring on her finger that Julian gave her on their own wedding day. “Just because she’s getting married doesn’t mean she won’t be around, making sure Ty stays out of trouble and popping her head in every meeting.”</p><p>”I know you’re right but I’m her brother and I’ve raised her and-”</p><p>”Julian Blackthorn.” Emma held his face in her hands. “Nothing could ever change the love you have for your brothers and sisters. Nothing. You love with all your heart and soul and that is why I fell in love with you. But Matthew loves Livia, too. You’ve seen it with your own eyes. Why else would this wedding even be happening? Livia knows what real love is because of you. She would not be getting married unless she felt that again. You taught her that.”</p><p>Julian glanced at the family portrait on the wall behind his mirror. Little Livia, no more than six years old, with her arms around Julian’s neck, a monstrous grin on her face. He felt his heart squeeze again, but he smiled and kissed his wife. “I’m gonna need you to put some tissues in my pocket.”</p><p>...</p><p>“Jules, what do you think?”</p><p>Livvy stood before him in gold, her hair in loose waves over her shoulders and gold flowers behind her ear. Her smile was radiant but she looked at her big brother nervously.</p><p>Julian stared at the girl in front of him; the girl who he once held in his arms as she bled, certain he was about to lose her forever, standing before him in a wedding dress. “Livia-”</p><p>“Is it too much?” Livvy quickly turned to the mirror and reached for the flowers. “Dru thought it looked nice but I can take them off-”</p><p>“You look beautiful, Livvy.” Julian approached his sister, biting back the tears forming in his eyes. “I think I need to tie Matthew’s hands behind his back.”</p><p>Livvy smiled. “Don’t scare him more than he already is, please.”</p><p>Julian shrugged half-heartedly. “You have four brothers, two sisters, and your sisters-in-law are Emma and Aline. My word means nothing.”</p><p>She smiled at the memory of all her family meeting Matthew for the first time. “Do you think I’m ready for this?”</p><p>Julian sighed. “You? Yes. Me? No.” He moved to stand directly in front of his sister. “You’re still my little Livvy. But I know that you’re happy, so I’m happy.”</p><p>They stood in silence for a moment, the unsettling feeling that, for so long, neither of them thought that this day would ever come after that day in Council Hall. The scar on her chest reminded her everyday of how hard her family worked to save her. How hard Julian worked to save her.</p><p>“I love you, Jules.”</p><p>Julian smiled and laughed, wiping the small tear that had begun to fall from his cheek. “I love you, too, Livvy.” He held out his arm, which she grabbed. “Still want me to walk you down the aisle?”</p><p>“Yes.” Livvy took a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. House of Memories (Will Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Young Will thinks about his family, despite trying not to. Inspired by the song "House of Memories" by Panic! at the Disco.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Warning: Sad</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>I think of you from time to time /  more than I thought I would / you were just too kind / and I was too young to know</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <br/><br/></em>
</p>
<p>Will stared at the dark emptiness before him. He lay on his bed, silent and alone.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Would she grow to hate him, he wondered those first nights at the London Institute. Would Cecily grow to hate him, for leaving? <em>She should, </em>he told himself. <em>To keep her safe.<br/><br/></em></p>
<p>He tried to forget them. The less he thought about them, the less it hurt to know he could never see them again. He would never know how Cecily would grow up to be, or how his parents could possibly handle the loss of another child. If he thought about that, he might have gone back.<br/><br/></p>
<p>And yet, sometimes, late at night as he lay in bed, Will would still think of them. He would remember the times he played with Ella and Cecily, outside amongst the grass. He would have never imagined the horrors that would eventually come to him.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Will thought of Cecily the most. He imagined where she might end up. Traveling the world, perhaps, or determining that she would seek her own way through the countryside seeking mischief. She was never afraid.<br/><br/></p>
<p>Will was afraid.<br/><br/></p>
<p>The tears rolled down his face as he tried to force the thoughts out of his mind. If he were to possibly go on as a Shadowhunter, he must forget everything. He no longer had parents, no longer had any sisters, only life as Nephilim.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>That’s all that really matters / I was a fool</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> <br/><br/></em>
</p>
<p>Years later, when he would stare at Cecily standing in the halls of the London Institute, he would not think clearly.<br/><br/></p>
<p>There was never a curse. He had abandoned his sister for nothing—and for that, he would never forgive himself.<br/><br/></p>
<p>She had grown up gracefully, he will think. She will hold herself up tall, her eyes determined. And yet, while his heart would want nothing more than to go to her and tell her how sorry he was, his mind will scream at him to tell her to leave. Life as a Nephilim was dangerous, and he had spent five years away from her to keep her from danger.<br/><br/></p>
<p><em>I was a fool, Cecily, </em>his mind will scream. <em>But I would be a bigger fool to bring you into this life.<br/><br/></em></p>
<p>But she will stay. And she will be insistent. As much as he will try, Will knows Cecily is too much like him.<br/><br/><br/><br/></p>
<p><em>Baby we built this house / on memories / take my picture now / shake it till you see it / and when your fantasies / become your legacies / promise me a place / in your house of memories<br/><br/></em> <em> <br/><br/></em></p>
<p>Young Will Herondale sat up in his bed. His face had stained from the tears he shed moments earlier. He twisted the Herondale ring on his finger and allowed himself a moment of selfishness.<br/><br/></p>
<p>He hoped Cecily would grow to forgive him. To remember him as he was before Ella died. He thought about the family she might one day have. Would they ever know of their Uncle William? If they did, would it be pleasant at all?<br/><br/></p>
<p>In his pain, he whispered silently. “Cecily, I hope one day you learn of why I had to go. I did it for you.”<br/><br/></p>
<p>He let out a deep, yet silent, sob. “Promise me a place in your memories.”<br/><br/></p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Originally posted on Tumblr. Again, I do not have any set posting schedule.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A Moment of Peace (Will & Cecily Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Takes place immediately after the events of Chapter 7 in Clockwork Princess, in which Will threw his hands into fire to retrieve yin fen for Jem. </p>
<p>**Short but sweet.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Then I will stay with you.”</p>
<p>Cecily slid down from the arm of the chair and sat beside her brother, who had dropped his head against the back and closed his eyes. She got as comfortable as she could get, having not changed out of her day attire. She lay her head softly against Will’s arm, her hand still in his, still careful not to remove the salve Charlotte had placed earlier.</p>
<p>He was reckless, she thought. But he loved Jem. So, while his actions had saddened Cecily, they did not surprise her.</p>
<p>Cecily’s eyes began to close as she felt the tired wash over her. The fire cracked beside them, and she felt peace for the first time in five years. She was with Will again. Her brother, who had called her <em>cariad </em>when he thought she had been hurt. This Will still loves her, too, even if she had not yet fully realized how much.</p>
<p>
  <em><br/>Later that evening</em>
</p>
<p><br/>Charlotte had searched their bedrooms and the training rooms. She could not find the Herondale siblings anywhere.</p>
<p>“Those children,” she swore. “They will be the end of me.”</p>
<p>She finally returned to the drawing room, expecting to collapse in exhaustion. She did not expect to find Will and Cecily still there so late at night.</p>
<p>They sat together in the same armchair she had seen them last, only now Cecily sat beside him, narrowly between his body and the arm of the chair. Her head rested on her brother’s arm, fast asleep. Her hair had come loose in the chaos after Will threw his hands into the fire, and it was evident that Cecily hadn’t bothered to pin it back up.</p>
<p>Will slept, too. His head had moved from the back of the armchair to rest near his own shoulder, close to his sister’s head on his arm.</p>
<p>Charlotte smiled softly. It was a sweet sight, the Herondale siblings together after so long. She had hoped Will would see his family again, despite the Law. She did not think it would be when his younger sister would arrive at the Institute, announcing she had come to train as a Shadowhunter.</p>
<p>Sophie appeared next to Charlotte. “Mrs. Branwell, shall I wake them?”</p>
<p>Charlotte waved her hand. “No, Sophie. Let them sleep. They have had quite the evening.” She picked up her skirt and turned to leave. “Do put out the fire, though, would you Sophie? I’d hate to have to use any more salve on the Herondale’s.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. I Am a Shadowhunter (Cecily Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Based on the song "Salt" by Ava Max.</p>
<p>**This one turned out much longer than I originally anticipated. Enjoy!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Uh oh / I’ve got breaking news / and it’s not about you / Uh oh<br/><br/></em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“My name is Cecily Herondale, you see. And I’ve come to be trained as a Shadowhunter.”</p>
<p>The room was deathly quiet. Several pairs of wide, shocked eyes gazed at her. Cecily only cared about one of them. “<em>Gwilym</em>,” she breathed.</p>
<p>Will did not answer her. He stared back, pale and unmoving. He had grown up considerably since the last time she saw him. He was much taller, muscular, and covered in dark tattoos she knew only as Marks. She had hoped he would have been much happier to see her.</p>
<p>“Miss Herondale,” said the woman standing at the head of the dining table. Her voice did not waver, but her eyes betrayed her clear shock. “You wish to join the Nephilim?”</p>
<p>“That is what I said,” Cecily answered, her eyes not leaving Will. The other people about the room continued to flicker their eyes between her and her brother. Finally, the boy with silver hair cleared his throat.</p>
<p>“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Herondale,” he said. “I’m James Carstairs. Call me Jem.”</p>
<p>Cecily nodded. His silver hair matched the bright silver eyes that met hers.</p>
<p>He seemed wary of Will’s reaction, glancing back at him for a moment before continuing. “I’m your brother’s <em>parabatai</em>.”</p>
<p>Cecily only moved her attention back to Will. She had no knowledge of <em>parabatai</em> and did not intend to gain any. She had come to bring Will home. “Nothing from you?” She asked him, ice evident in her voice that had not been there before, when she first saw him and whispered his name. “I should think you’d be glad to see your sister after so long.”</p>
<p>The woman who had spoken earlier clasped her hands before any more could be said. “Sophie, please prepare a bedroom for Miss Herondale. It is nearly time for bed and she should not have to rest in the drawing room after such a journey.” The maid in the corner nodded and dashed out of the room.</p>
<p>“My name is Charlotte Branwell,” the woman said to Cecily. “I am the head of this Institute. As Nephilim, you are welcome to stay with us here and train. We will provide you gear. Have you any prior training?”</p>
<p>Will finally made a sound, though it made little difference to Cecily. “No,” she answered. “But I am a quick learner.”</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Uh oh / I’ve been breaking hearts too / and I learned it all from you / Uh oh<br/><br/></em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>Will roughly caught her arm after dinner as she stood to leave. “<em>What</em> are you <em>doing</em> here?”</p>
<p>The last person quickly fled the room and Cecily cleared her throat. “So, this is where you ran off to.”</p>
<p>His head jerked up. For a moment, Cecily thought he had looked defeated.</p>
<p>“Yes,” he said to her flatly. “And you were not supposed to ever follow me.”</p>
<p>“Why not?” She snapped. “I am Nephilim, same as you.”</p>
<p>Will looked at her and she could clearly see he was holding back pain. “Cecy,” he whispered. She had not heard her nickname in five years.</p>
<p>“What did we do that was so horrible, Will, that you left your family and came <em>here,</em>” she said, her voice lilting. “To the people who forced our father into exile simply because he fell in love? To the people who never wanted us to exist?” Will flinched at her words.</p>
<p>“I did it for you, Cecy. For all of you.” The words seemed to spill out.</p>
<p>She opened her mouth to answer but found no words. She had not thought that was what he was going to say. “Excuse me?”</p>
<p>He sighed, his body shaking ever so noticeably. “I did it to protect you. What happened to Ella was my fault, Cecy, and I couldn’t let it happen to you, too.” Cecily felt her chest tighten at her sister’s name. “I ran so you would all forget me. It was the only way.”</p>
<p>“The only way?” She asked, incredulously. “I was <em>nine, </em>Will. I thought you <em>hated</em> me.”</p>
<p>Will’s eyes widened. “By the Angel, Cecily, I could <em>never</em> hate you.”</p>
<p>“I came here to bring you home,” she told him. “I saw the warlock you sent to check on us at Ravenscar Manor. He told me you missed me. I thought—” she paused, then whispered, “I thought you wanted to see me.”</p>
<p>Will continued to stare at her, shocked. “When I saw you at Ravenscar, I didn’t know what to do. I did not think I would have seen anyone there, least of all you.” He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it a wild mess. “Something came over me and I tried to run to you. But it wasn’t safe. Jem stopped me.”</p>
<p>Cecily felt her body heat up. “You were there,” she struggled. “And you said nothing.”</p>
<p>“I couldn’t.” Will reached for her, but she pulled away from him instinctively. He winced. “I would have put you, all of you, in more danger if you saw me.” He seemed to realize something. “But a warlock? I never sent any warlock.”</p>
<p>“Well, I saw him. Hiding in the grass on the hill, spying. I asked him if you sent him to check on us and he told me you missed me. I thought it meant you wanted to come home. When you didn’t come, I left. I probably broke Mam and Da’s hearts, same as you did, to come to Shadowhunters.”</p>
<p>Will gaped. <em>“Mam and Da don’t know where you are?”</em></p>
<p>“Maybe. I left them a short letter. I told them I was coming to bring you home. I assume they only learned of it long after I was gone.”</p>
<p>They stood for a long moment, looking at each other. Cecily suspected that the look on her face had fallen to the same look of heartbreak that her brother’s face showed. “Why did you leave?” She finally asked again, her voice no higher than crackling of the fire.</p>
<p>“The curse,” he whispered. Upon seeing her face, he continued. “Cecy, when I opened that Pyxis, the box in Da’s office, the demon that killed Ella told me that he’d cursed me. That anyone who ever loved me would die. That night, Ella died, and I knew I had to leave. I couldn’t let that happen to you or our parents. It was the only way I could keep you safe from me.”</p>
<p>Cecily’s eyes widened. Will hadn’t broken his eye contact with her. He looked so somber and broken.</p>
<p>He continued. “I was at Ravenscar Manor because we’re looking for someone dangerous. We followed a lead to the manor, thinking we’d find him there. But instead we found you.”<br/><br/>“Mortmain,” Cecily whispered. “Why are you looking for Mortmain?”<br/><br/>Will shook his head. “The point, Cecily, is that everything I’ve ever done in the last five years has been to keep the people I love safe. But—” He choked.</p>
<p>“But what?”</p>
<p>“But today I learned there was never any curse.” He sank back into his seat. “The demon only convinced me there was. He confessed to fabricating the whole thing when I faced him tonight. I left Wales thinking I was protecting my family, but I only hurt them. I hurt you.”<br/><br/>Cecily stood, stunned. “There is no curse,” she said slowly. “So, you can come home.”</p>
<p>Will shook his head violently. <br/><br/>“I can’t come home Cecily. This is my home now. You have to understand. It is you who needs to go home.”<br/><br/>Cecily curled her hands into fists. “I will not go home without you. If you will not return with me, then I will stay right here and train to be a Shadowhunter.”<br/><br/>Will looked up at her, suddenly furious. “No! You are going home, Cecy. This world is not safe. Curse or no curse, you have to stay away.”<br/><br/>She glared back at him. “Oh, I will stay. And I will train until you choose to come home with me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em><br/>I’ve got my thigh-highs on / feel like Wonder Woman / that’s when you want all in / but I’m not your woman / when my lipstick pops / and I feel like Monroe / that’s when you want me most / Uh oh</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </em>
</p>
<p>The rush was exhilarating.</p>
<p>With every swing of a blade and release of a knife, Cecily felt more and more at home. When days turned into weeks of training, she felt less motivated to return to Yorkshire. She had even relented in begging Will to return, asking him only to write their parents a letter.</p>
<p>Even the feel of gear against her skin felt right. She had never worn trousers before, but it made practical sense to her. A lady’s dress would only slow her down.</p>
<p>She looked about the training room and closed her eyes for a moment, reminding herself where she was. She remembered the feel of the stele on her right hand, where she received her first Mark.</p>
<p>“Why should I bother if you’re not going to listen?” Her brother’s voice had snapped. Cecily opened her eyes and glared at Will.</p>
<p>“Because you have to,” Cecily had answered. “I’ve joined the Nephilim, I must be trained, and you don’t trust anyone else in the Institute to train me.”</p>
<p>She knew he was never going to be happy that she had stayed. But, as she spent more time amongst the inhabitants of the London Institute, she understood why Will did.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/>When Cecily landed on the rough gravel of Chiswick House, she had expected to be more graceful about it. Instead, she stared at her wrist, which bent in an unnatural manner.</p>
<p>She felt someone’s arms around her help her off the ground. She initially thought it was Will, whose voice she had heard shout as she fell. When she looked up, she was surprised to stare into green eyes instead of blue.</p>
<p>The boy said nothing, but he looked at her in wonder. She felt his fingers under her chin, holding her head up and keeping her gaze on his. She wondered if that was surprise she saw in his eyes. Recognition? <em>Awe? </em>Moments later Will appeared, shoving the boy from her. “Stay <em>away</em> from my sister,” Will had yelled at him. </p>
<p>“That was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen a Shadowhunter do,” the boy said to her. His voice was definitely full of awe.</p>
<p>Cecily glanced at him and bit back a smile.</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I’m all out of salt / I’m not gonna cry  / won’t give you want you want / ‘cuz I look way too good tonight / I’m all out of salt / tears are running dry / won’t give you want you want / ‘cuz I look way too good tonight</em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>Cecily felt at home, standing before the London Institute, her hair pinned and dress neat. She held her head high and smiled. <br/><br/>“I intend to stay here, Charlotte, at the Institute,” she had said, though her announcement was to everyone. “I want to remain a Shadowhunter.</p>
<p>Charlotte smiled. Gabriel gazed at her, smiling the way he had in those moments in the stables. Will, despite everything he had ever done to prevent her from staying, smiled at her, too.</p>
<p>“I know I belong here, with my brother and with all of you,” she continued. “I am most like myself here. I feel it when I wake up and I feel it when I sleep. I <em>am</em> a Shadowhunter.”</p>
<p>“And you are a member of this household, Cecily Herondale,” Charlotte said. “Welcome home.”</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Of Great Use (Will & Tessa) [Part 1]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Belial… use me… walk the earth…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Needs his own bloodline…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Go after Lucie if I don’t…</em>
</p>
<p>Tessa stared in horror at her son, his words echoing in her mind. Will exploded after James finished speaking. “<em>Damn him!</em>” He stood, breathing heavily, staring at his children. Lucie looked like she would be sick.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you all earlier. I just—” James looked more vulnerable than he had in years, Tessa noticed. How could she not have seen it? Her own boy? “I thought I could handle it. I thought I could protect you.”</p>
<p>“We are a family,” Tessa told him. “We protect each other. This is not a burden you should bear alone, Jamie.”</p>
<p>“He said he needed one of your children,” James said, greatly upset. “That your Clockwork Angel still protects you, but not your children. I—I told him no. But I’m afraid he will go after Lucie.”</p>
<p>“I will never let him,” Lucie demanded surely.</p>
<p>Will and Tessa exchanged heavy looks. James sucked in a breath. “Mam? Papa?”</p>
<p>They looked at their son. Will swiftly walked around the desk and embraced both James and Lucie tightly. “We believe you, both of you. You will make the right choice. But the both of you are capable of making choices and defending yourselves. Your sibling is not.”</p>
<p>James and Lucie stared wide-eyed at their father, before looking to Tessa. Tessa stood and approached her children. She cupped both their faces in her hands and remembered when they were just tiny little menaces running throughout the Institute, only to be reprimanded by a ghost she couldn’t see, but they could.</p>
<p>“James, Lucie, I am pregnant. You have another sibling coming.”</p>
<p>This was supposed to be a happy family moment, like Cecily and Gabriel had when they learned they were expecting Alexander. But instead, the Herondale family stood in intense fear of what was to come.</p>
<p>Lucie, who in any other circumstance would have been thrilled to be an older sister, gazed sadly at Tessa. “Oh, Mam…”<br/><br/><br/></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Belial grinned viciously at them, though his face was marred by James’ features. Will kneeled beside his daughter, unconscious in his arms, pale, with a sickly purple and blue band appearing across her throat. “It is too bad dear Lucie was so unwilling to cooperate. A wasted potential, really,” said the demon wearing his son’s face.</p>
<p>Will, grief-stricken and angry, glared daggers at Belial. “<em>Get out of my son.</em>”</p>
<p>The demon shrugged, adjusting the braces James was wearing. “Such odd style you Shadowhunters wear these days.” Will desperately drew <em>iratzes</em> along Lucie’s arm and throat, praying for signs of life. “I suppose I could honor your request. James here is quite a hostile host. I shall simply need to find another.”</p>
<p>“Then you shall be thoroughly disappointed,” Will growled. Belial only smiled. It sickened Will to see such an evil look on his son’s face—but he knew it was not his son.</p>
<p>“Isn’t there? Tell me, William, where <em>is</em> my daughter? I should surely love to pay a visit to my next grandchild.”</p>
<p>Will’s blood ran cold. Lucie had not woken, though the <em>iratzes</em> had begun to diminish the appearance of her bruising. He stared into the eyes of that should have been James’s. Before he would speak, Tessa’s voice rose behind him. “I am right here.”</p>
<p>Will head snapped toward the stairs of the Institute, where Tessa stood. She was dressed in gear, an empty expression on her face that faltered slightly when her eyes found Lucie. She looked back at Belial. “Leave my children out of this, Belial. This matter is between you and I now.”</p>
<p>“<em>No!</em>” Will cried, torn into pieces between wanting to go to his wife or son or stay with his daughter. This was not how any of this was supposed to go. “Tessa, please don’t do this. He’s a monster. He can’t be trusted!”<b></b></p>
<p>Belial only grinned. “Ah, Theresa. So glad to hear you’ve begun to see things my way. Pity, though, that you serve no purpose to me, not since that damned fool Mortmain gave you your Clockwork Angel.” Will stared desperately at his wife. Tessa’s face remained unchanged, but he could see the emotion behind her eyes. “But that dear child you possess is of great use to me, in fact.”</p>
<p>James’s body suddenly froze, then collapsed in a heap. A desperate shout tore from Will’s throat as he watched the silver cloud emerge and rush toward Tessa.</p>
<p>Tessa gasped and stumbled, clutching her stomach as the silver cloud began to solidify before them all. Will clutched Lucie closer to him as he tried to reach Tessa. She stood only a few feet away from him, at the top of the stairs, but the distance between them felt as painful as it had nearly 25 years earlier, when she was taken from him in London and forced to Cadair Idris. He pleaded with her to retreat inside, where Belial could not enter in his weakened form. </p>
<p>As the figure began to shape into a man, Will relunctantly laid Lucie down and rushed up the stairs to Tessa. She was in pain, but she gripped his shirt tightly with just as much strength as she would have had without the pain. “James and Lucie. Get them out of here, Will.” </p>
<p>Will held her tightly. His heart was about to burst out of his chest in fear. “I will not leave <em>any</em> of you. He’s drawing power from you, Tess, you have to get inside!”</p>
<p>Magnus Bane suddenly emerged from the shadows, chanting in Latin. Tessa’s eyes flashed at him before she joined Magnus. Will stood still for a moment, stunned. The silvery cloud that had begun to shape into the Prince of Hell disappeared with a distant laugh. Will and Tessa rushed to their children, who remained unmoving on the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Lucie, my darling, please wake up,” Tessa whispered, her hand on her daughter’s cheek. Lucie’s skin was clammy but had regained its color. James sat in the far side of the room, curled into himself in the corner, wracked with guilt, refusing <em>iratzes</em> unless Lucie woke.</p>
<p>Will stood stiffly beside Tessa, his hand on her shoulder. “Tessa, my love, please, Jem is here to check on the children. All of them.”</p>
<p>Tessa looked up at him, her heart squeezing with every beat. Because of her, all of her children had been hurt. She could not forgive herself for this. How could <em>Will</em> ever forgive her? If she had just learned to control her powers years earlier, she could have helped James and Lucie earlier. They could have stopped Belial earlier.</p>
<p>Will gently tugged at her shoulder. “Please, Tess.” As she stood quietly, a terrible pain tore through her body. She gasped, clutching her stomach and doubling over. Will grabbed her immediately. “Jem. Jem is here, Tessa, we have to go <em>now</em>.” Out of habit, Tessa’s eyes searched the room for her son.</p>
<p>James stared back at her, wide-eyed and shaking. “Jamie,” she said, trying to reassure him. “Jamie, <em>bach</em>, this is not your fault. Please stay with Lucie, we will be back, I promise.”</p>
<p>He did not move as Will quickly ushered Tessa out of the room toward their own bedroom, where Jem was waiting. Halfway down the hall, Tessa cried out and dropped to her knees. “Tessa!” Will dropped beside her and shouted for Jem to come to them. She vomited suddently, violently. Her body shuddered with every heave. Will’s voice was panicked in her ear. Tessa lifted a shaking hand to her lips and drew back, heaving at the sight of blood on her fingertips. The blood turned black as she stared.</p>
<p>Her breath hitched. Tears welled in her eyes. <em>No,</em> she thought to herself, pleadingly. <em>No, no, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Not my baby.</em></p>
<p>“Tessa—” Will’s voice was hoarse. She looked at him, tears beginning to fall quickly. He was pale, his gaze on her terrified. “Oh, Tess—<em>no</em>…”</p>
<p>She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t even want to think it. But as she sat on the ground in the dimly lit hallway in her husband’s arms, her body weak, Belial’s voice echoed in her mind.</p>
<p>
  <em>That dear child you possess is of great use to me.<br/></em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Of Great Use (Will & Tessa) [Part 2]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>Tessa could hear Cecily’s voice drift down the hall as she got closer to her bedroom.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>It had been only a few hours since her family’s encounter with Belial on the steps of the Institute, but the damage had proven to be devastating. It was nearly midnight now, and Lucie had yet to wake, still. James continued not to accept <em>iratzes</em>, food, or water. Will, ever worried and grieved, harried back and forth between Tessa and their children. Their only two children, now. It made sense that Will had sent for his sister at a time like this. They needed their family.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“Tessa.” Her sister-in-law’s voice was gentle, careful. “Will?”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“Cecy,” Will breathed, standing from Tessa’s bedside. Cecily went to her brother and embraced him. When she pulled back, she looked between them with great concern.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“What happened? I’ve sent Gabriel to the children, but no one has told me anything.”</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tessa could only look at them in pain from her position, sitting in bed. Her world had been like a black hole, sucking any life she had left from her lungs, since the moment Belial had disappeared.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will’s voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Belial, the Prince of Hell”--Cecily’s eyes widened--“He is Tessa’s father. He attacked us on the steps of the Institute.” Will shook his head, his expression deeply pained. “He tried to possess Lucie. It didn’t work; she was too defiant, my precious Lulu. But to protect her, James was possessed.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“By the Angel,” Cecily whispered, horrified.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I tried to protect them,” Tessa spoke suddenly. Her throat was raw from crying. “I tried to protect them all. And I failed.” Will sat beside her again, slipping his fingers between hers. Cecily kept her distance but watched them closely.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Because of that bastard, we’ve lost the baby,” Will said angrily. Cecily subconsciously placed her hand protectively across her stomach, her face morphing from shock to sadness. Tessa knew that instinct: it was a mother’s instinct.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“James,” Uncle Gabriel said again. “Can you hear me?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He did not know when he had managed to drift into the shadow realm again. James only realized he hadn’t been present at all when he felt his uncle’s hand on his shoulder, yanking him back into Lucie’s bedroom. “James, are you all right? You were fading.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He looked up at his uncle, who appeared greatly worried. James only nodded slightly, shrinking away from Gabriel. “Lucie,” is all he said. A shimmering figure hovered near his sister’s bed. Jessamine.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Uncle Gabriel’s eyes softened. “She’s still asleep, Jamie,” he said. “But she is all right.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And my mother?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There was a pause. Gabriel shifted his body to sit beside James. “I am not certain. Your aunt is with your parents now. I came straight here at the request of your father.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>James only felt cold. “It’s my fault. I killed my brother or sister.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We don’t know—”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yes, we do.” James stood in a sudden fervor. “I heard my mother’s cry, and my father’s anger. I have been with Lucie all night; I would know if their pain was about her. But their cries came from their bedroom. The baby is gone because Belial needed one of my mother’s children to walk the earth and I could not stop him.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>Jamie</em>.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It was not Uncle Gabriel’s deep voice that spoke then, but the soft, weakened voice of Lucie Herondale.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>In a moment, James and his uncle were by her side. James felt both relief and immense guilt as he stared down at her. “I’m so sorry, Lucie, I’m so sorry.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She didn’t appear to hear him. Her blue eyes darted hastily around the room as if she were looking desperately for something but could not see anything. “Papa?” she asked, panic rising in her tone. “<em>Papa</em>!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Gabriel took her hand and attempted to calm her as she cried out for her parents. Jessamine disappeared from view in a whirl of petticoats; to notify his parents, James assumed, but he could not bear to listen to Lucie’s cries. He ran from the room.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Despite the secrecy they needed to keep regarding Tessa’s father, Will was grateful for the number of friends and family who came in the dead of night. He was grateful for Cecily, who stayed with Tessa after Jessamine had appeared to tell him Lucie had woken. He was grateful for Gabriel, even, for dashing after James as soon as Will arrived for Lucie. And perhaps he was most grateful of all that his children had such dedicated friends.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Matthew and Cordelia had burst through the doors of the Institute, dressed fully in gear, their eyes frenzied. They’d left as soon as they heard what happened, Cordelia told Will. He felt reassured, at least, that James and Lucie would have their <em>parabatai’s</em> at their sides.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Will,” Tessa’s voice broke his thoughts. Various inaudible conversations floated through the halls of the Institute. He looked down at Tessa in his arms and squeezed her gently. Her eyes were red from waves of grief. He knew his looked the same. “I do hope no one has bothered Sophie. Please, she has gone through enough of her own. I cannot attempt to seek comfort from her when she carries such pain.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will gazed at her in love and sadness. Even in her moments of grief, she cared for how others felt. “Sophie is your dearest friend, Tess; she could not hold such a request against you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“She is also a mother who has lost her child,” Tessa said. “A child she got to know, and watch become a beautiful woman, only to have her ripped away. It is a different grief she feels, one that I cannot imagine. I do not wish to be an added burden to her now.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will sighed, but he understood. Sophie and Gideon had not been the same since Barbara’s death, and he doubted they ever would be again. He could not blame them for that; he’d nearly experienced that loss himself, and it would have killed him. He was certain of that.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You are right, my love,” he said quietly. “I have not sent for Sophie and Gideon. I don’t imagine Gabriel has, either.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She relaxed only slightly, returning to her silence. There was not much to say, Will knew. They could only lay here, wrapped in each other’s arms, and share in their grief. There was only a moment of relief in their sorrow, when he told her that Lucie was awake. But the darkness in their hearts did not lift. Will wondered if it would ever lift at all.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Morning came quickly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will arranged for a large family meeting in the drawing room. He offered breakfast, but Cecily told him that Gabriel and Thomas had gone to fetch breakfast from a local bakery and would return soon. Will’s gratitude for his family only continued to grow.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Despite Tessa’s refusal, Sophie <em>did</em> arrive at the Institute later that morning with Gideon, Thomas, and Eugenia. Anna was there, too, having brought her brothers along at the request of her mother. Will watched from a distance, near the doorway to his and Tessa’s bedroom, as Cecily embraced her children with a cry of relief, kissing their heads.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“She is ready,” Sophie said from behind his shoulder. Will turned and smiled gratefully at her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Thank you, Sophie,” he said. “I’m forever in your debt.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You are never in debt to family,” she said quietly. She carried with her an aura of sadness that would stay with her throughout the rest of her life. Will noticed it every time he saw her. But she had remained as loyal and dependable as ever and Will would never forget it.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She passed him and journeyed toward the drawing room. He saw her sit between Gideon and Eugenia and decided it was time to look away. Tessa stood silently beside the dressing curtain, gazing toward the bloodied gear she’d worn the night before. The blood that told them they’d lost their child. “Tess,” he whispered, pulling her away from the sight and into his arms. “You do not have to attend this meeting. Our family will understand.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I will go,” she answered. “If nothing else, to be with James and Lucie.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Lucie, who had recovered from her injuries enough to walk, sat beside Cordelia in a large, cushioned seat beside the fire. James stood, tucked away in the furthest corner, no doubt still feeling guilty. Matthew stood beside him, his face firm. James had argued with him about being alone. Matthew refused.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Thank you all for being here,” Will said, standing at the head of the long dining table. As Cecily said, Gabriel and Thomas had returned with several plates of breakfast, though not many were eating. Only little Alexander munched away on a plate of fruit, sitting in his father’s lap. “As you know, this is very dangerous information that must remain only between our family. Now that we know the identity of the demon who fathered Tessa, and we know what he wants, we must work quickly to stop him.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He glanced at Tessa before continuing. “He’s taken our unborn child from us to serve his own interests in walking the earth,” he forced through his teeth. Lucie sniffed; she was crying silently.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“He will pay for what he’s done,” Gideon said dangerously. “For everything he’s done.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tessa gasped suddenly, doubling over in her seat. Will immediately abandoned his place at the table and kneeled beside her. “Tess? Tess, what is it? What’s happening?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Mam?” Lucie called, lifting herself from her seat quickly, only to sway and be held up by her <em>parabatai</em>. Tessa heaved and looked up at Will in shock. “I—it’s moving.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“What’s moving?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“The baby,” she answered in complete disbelief. Will froze. The room fell into a fragile silence. Tessa looked up, her eyes darting toward everyone in the room. “The baby is moving.”</p>
  <p> </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Of Great Use (Will & Tessa) [Part 3]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>James Herondale had gone through enough in his life, now, that he felt he’d aged nearly fifty years in the last ten months.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“Your mother’s baby is alive, then?” Christopher asked. “I am confused. My father told me the baby was gone.”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“We thought it was,” Lucie said, laying back against the headboard of James’s bed. “But we were mistaken. The baby is alive.” James felt he ought to have scolded her for messing up his bedsheets, but Lucie was still weak from her possession, and James still felt guilty, so he said nothing. Cordelia stood beside her. James’s heart ached to go to her, but he remained where he was. She’d been shocked to learn the news but remained faithful to Lucie’s side and promised to help.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>They had all gathered in his bedroom the day after the meeting in the drawing room had cleared to make room for Tessa to be seen by the Silent Brothers. James was there, as was his father and sister, when they’d learned that the baby was, in fact, very much alive. It would have been a beautiful relief had they not also learned that there was a demonic presence in the child that was causing his mother to become dreadfully ill. Belial was not only feeding off of the unborn baby’s life, but Tessa’s as well.</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>James ran his hands through his hair for the thousandth time that morning. “We have to find a way to break the hold Belial has on my mother and the baby. They will both die if we don’t.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“James, everyone is working on this,” Thomas commented. He’d been the most levelheaded among them since they’d learned the news. James was grateful. “My father is in the Basillas as we speak collecting information on demon possession. Uncle Jem is helping him sneak the books back to London.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Matthew gripped James’s shoulder firmly. He’d turned a concerning shade of green when the news broke and had remained silent for most of the conversation. “We will do whatever we can to help your mother, Jamie. The Angel knows I wish I could have done something to help my—” he paused, his voice becoming monotone. The grip on James’s shoulder tightened. “To help my mother when she lost her baby. I won’t let the same fate befall yours.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Christopher was gazing at the ground, a look of deep thought on his face. “I will see if my mother still has the treatment she took when she was pregnant with Alexander. She was awfully ill, as well. Perhaps there is a way to repurpose it to ease Aunt Tessa’s illness.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Aunt Cecily has already brought the remaining treatment to my mother,” Lucie said. “I saw her with them when I visited the sickroom this morning. We will need to hurry if we want to obtain a sample.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“The only men allowed in the sickroom are James and his father,” Cordelia said. “Christopher cannot go ask his mother for the sample himself. Lucie and I will go. We will meet you all in the crypt.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tessa wondered if it was possible to actually vomit one’s internal organs. Her body ached terribly, having spasmed violently with every wave of nausea. Her nightgown was stained in spatters of blackened blood. It was a sight that sent painful shocks of fear through her heart.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Cecily, Tessa’s personal angel, faithfully replaced the bucket beside Tessa’s bedside. Tessa could hardly lift her own arms anymore. She learned this with great despair when Lucie and Cordelia had come to visit a few hours prior and she could not embrace her own daughter.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She’d felt a great sense of love toward her family, all her family, when Lucie explained that Christopher had begun research into adapting his mother’s pregnancy treatments to ease her symptoms. Cecily had such an intense look of pride as she handed the girls a bottle of the treatment from Tessa’s bedside. There were two others to last until Kit found a solution.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Drink,” Cecily said. Tessa startled, unaware that Cecily had reappeared at her elbow holding a glass of water. She took it and drank, relishing in the cooling effect it had on their sore throat. She ached to have Will by her side, but he was deep in the shelves of the library, desperately searching to learn if holy water would sever Belial’s connection to her baby. It was possible; but Tessa was unwilling to test it unless there was evidence it would work, fearful of hurting her baby once again.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Cecy,” Tessa croaked. “You mustn’t remain here at all hours. When Will returns, please go rest. See your children.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Cecily smiled and returned the glass to the table. “I know you worry for others, Tessa, but you must worry only for yourself now. I am perfectly content helping you through this difficult time. You were there for me when I had my own difficult pregnancies. Gabriel is more than capable of caring for Alexander in the meantime.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And what of Anna and Kit?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Anna, no doubt, is making certain that Kit does not burn down the Institute in his quest to modify the treatment.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tessa smiled. Cecily held so much faith and love in her children that it made Tessa desperately miss her own in that moment. “Thank you, Cecy.” She reached out to take the serviette from Cecily’s outstretched hand when Will entered the room with a harried gaze that softened slightly as he settled his eyes on her.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tess,” he said gently, approaching her side. He carefully sat beside her, brushing the loose hairs out of her face. His touch was cool; it felt so very soothing against her feverish skin. “I heard about Christopher’s work. I’ve sent a bucket of holy water down to him. There is evidence that it may be a viable solution to your illness until we are able to stop the possession.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That’s wonderful,” she answered softly, laying her head back down against the pillows and closing her eyes. Cecily had replaced the ones that had been there before; they were damp with sweat. “Will, <em>bach</em>, please fetch me a cool cloth. I think I am burning up.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A few moments later, she felt the comforting pressure of a damp cloth on her forehead. She heard him tell his sister to rest followed by the distant clicking of the sickroom door closing. “Tess,” he whispered. “Tess, it will be all right. I know you don’t want to sleep, but I am right here. No harm will come to you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>But the nightmares had already begun.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will could only watch with unshielded horror as Tessa thrashed in her sleep, sweating profusely. He held her in his arms, but she would not wake from her nightmares. She cried out for him, and for James and Lucie. Her arms wrapped around her swollen belly with an iron grip.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tessa!” He begged. “Wake up!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Her eyes flew open, starling Will into a sudden shout. Her skin was as white as paper; her eyes were nearly entirely black, no trace of the gray that had been his Tessa’s eyes. These were the eyes of a demon. Will set into a panic. “Tessa!”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She gasped, the black disappearing from her eyes to reveal her gray ones once again, though her pupils were heavily dilated. Her hands gripped his shirt as she struggled to breathe. “The baby,” she said, her voice hoarse from her screaming. “He’s coming for her.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will’s blood froze. Before he could react, the door to the sickroom burst open, with James and Lucie standing in the entryway, breathing heavily as if they’d run there. “Papa!” Lucie cried, rushing to his side and grabbing her mother’s hands.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>James ran to the other side of Tessa’s bed. “We have it,” he said quickly. “Kit adapted Aunt Cecily’s treatment. Help me get Mam to take it.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Will steadied Tessa’s head as James lifted the dropper from the bottle and squeezed the liquid in to his mother’s mouth.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Over the months, Tessa had grown weary of the Institute.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She had not left since the day Belial attacked. She knew that so long as she remained within the consecrated walls of the Institute, Belial’s grip on her baby was reduced to its minimum. She stood, now, beside the window of the library, gazing out to where her son and his friends guarded the building. Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood had just walked away from the boys, heading to guard the front of the Institute.  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tess,” Will said beside her. “It’s time.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Together they passed the various other family members guarding the inside of the building. Sophie and Anna stood at the base of the stairs, nodding to Tessa and Will as they passed. “Everything will be all right,” Sophie whispered. Tessa squeezed her hand.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They passed the main entryway. The corridor to the Sanctuary was cold. Tessa’s nerves got the best of her, and she stopped. “Will, I don’t—”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tess,” he said gently, but his eyes were worried. “Charlotte is here with Jem and Magnus Bane. They’ve protected the Sanctuary. I saw Jessamine as we passed through the Institute. This is our only chance.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tessa looked down the hall toward the Sanctuary. She could see her daughter and her <em>parabatai</em> waiting, dressed in gear and fully armed. This was not going to be easy. It was dangerous. But Will was right—this was their only chance to save her and the baby.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I love you, Mam,” Lucie whispered as they passed. Tessa looked at her daughter and pulled her into a firm embrace.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And I love you, my dear Lucie,” Tessa answered. Will led her into the Sanctuary, where she saw Charlotte, Jem, and Magnus. Tessa felt a pinch of fear. “Where is Cecily?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“She is giving Alexander over to Eugenia. She should be back any moment now,” Charlotte answered, grabbing Tessa’s hands. “I was hesitant to grant the permission for this, Tessa, but I believe this will work. This family is strong, and the entire Institute is well protected.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Cecily rushed into the room and sealed the door. She turned a wild gaze on the occupants. “He is here. We must hurry.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>So, it was then, that Tessa stood in the center of the room, and began the modified exorcism. <em>Please, protect my babies, </em>Tessa prayed. She did not know entirely who to pray to, but her years with the Shadowhunters led her toward the Angel. <em>Do not let any harm come to my babies.</em></p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A loud crashing and screaming pierced the room.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Of Great Use (Will & Tessa) [Part 4 - End]</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“You truly think you, a bunch of children, can stop me?” Belial laughed as he materialized in front of the Institute. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“They are not alone,” a loud voice called from the roof. James did not have to look to know who it was. Uncle Gabriel and Uncle Gideon were on the roof, holding bows and arrows, aimed directly at the Prince of Hell. Behind him, inside the Institute doors, he could hear Aunt Cecily’s running footsteps.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>James pointed his longsword at Belial, glaring steadily. He could feel Matthew beside him. Out the corners of his eyes, he could see Thomas and Christopher crouched beside the bushes. “Family defends family. And you—no matter what you think—are not family.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“So idealistic the young ones are,” Belial sighed, flicking his wrist. A wave of smoke behind him formed into demons. They hissed and growled, waiting for their signal to attack. “I did hope it would not have to come to this but seeing as your mother intends to sever my connection to my dear grandchild, I’m afraid I have no choice.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The demons attacked.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Tessa remembered what giving birth should have felt like. It may have been nearly seventeen years since the last time, but she knew that this time felt different. Though, she had to admit, the other two times she gave birth, she had not just gone through modified exorcism.</p><p>Cecily’s voice was stern but encouraging. “Tessa, you have to push. This baby is coming <em>now</em>.”</p><p>Tessa opened her eyes. She was sweating profusely. Charlotte and Sophie gripped her arms, helping her remain as still as possible. Though she couldn’t see him, she knew Jem was in the room somewhere, ready to assist if the delivery started going horribly wrong. But Tessa had faith in her sister-in-law. Cecily had been the most recent of them to give birth.</p><p>“Push, Tessa!”</p><p>Tessa screamed.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Anna knew the moment Belial had fought his way to the doors of the Institute. She could hear her brother’s voice through the iron, swearing. While she knew the chances of Belial being able to step foot into the Institute were slim, she still worried. She remembered the story her mother had told her, of the demon who managed to enter the Institute when she was child, and had put her, her brother, and her cousins into the walls. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Aunt Sophie approached the doors. “We must go out,” she told Anna. “Are you ready?”</em>
</p><p><em>Anna nodded, and before she could do it herself, the doors to the Institute burst open in a sudden gust. The demons nearest to the door howled and scattered. Christopher and Thomas struggled with a demon further down the steps, but James whirled at the sound. His face revealed the slightest bit of relief. “</em>Jessamine<em>.”</em></p><p>
  <em>Though Anna could not see her, she knew that Jessamine must have been there. There was no way she wouldn’t be; she was the Institute’s guardian, and no one else could have opened the doors. “Sophie!” A voice called from above. Suddenly, two figured swung down the front of the Institute. Uncle Gideon approached Aunt Sophie first and pulled her down the steps. He stood at her back as the two launched into the fight on the ground. Anna turned and faced her father.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Your brother needs help,” Gabriel said, gripping Anna’s shoulder. “Are you ready?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s go.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Will sat inside the infirmary, wrapping James’s leg with shaking hands. “Papa,” Lucie whimpered from James’s side. Will raised his head and looked at his daughter, who had a glistening <em>iratze </em>on her neck. The cut on her forehead had almost healed, but her blood was still stained on her skin. Will swallowed painfully. “Is Mam going to be okay?”</p><p>“You mother is strong,” Will answered, though his voice shook. Lucie nodded, but her hands were twiddling nervously. James groaned as Will finished wrapping his leg. “You both fought bravely to help this family get here. Because of you, and your cousins, and your aunts and uncles, we’re close to meeting your new brother or sister.”</p><p>Another scream erupted from the corridor. Tessa was giving birth in the nearest bedroom they could get to; a spare room long forgotten until that day. “How can you stand it?” James asked, his voice obviously pained. “Sitting out here while Mam is in there.”</p><p>Will smiled sadly at his son. “I cannot stand it, but I cannot go in either. I busy myself, now, caring for you both, until I can see your mother. I did the same when Lucie was born; I watched over you, James. And when you were born, your uncle Gabriel had to nearly incapacitate me to keep me from bursting in there.”</p><p>“It would be very Herondale of you to do so,” James answered, a small smile growing on his face. Will stood and kissed both their heads.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Lucie heard the commotion long before anyone stumbled into the Sanctuary halls. She gripped her axe tightly, resisting the urge to race outside. Her mother needed her, here, defending the last barrier between Belial and her unborn sibling. Lucie would not let her mother down.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Lucie,” Cordelia said, Cortana gripped in her hand. “Do you want me to go—”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Matthew stumbled into the corridor, effectively cutting Cordelia off. His gear was torn, exposing much of his shoulder, which was bleeding. His eyes were wild. “There’s so many of them,” he rushed. “Lucie, I—we need you. Jessamine said you could call for help.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lucie stared back at Matthew, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. “Go,” Cordelia told her, reassuringly. “I will stay here and guard the Sanctuary.” Lucie took a look at the locked door behind her. She could hear the incantation of her mother’s modified exorcism, and her father’s worried voice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Lead the way,” she told Matthew.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Tessa wasn’t sure whose cry was louder: hers, or her newborn daughter’s.</p><p>She could hardly notice the scrubbing on her skin as Sophie and Charlotte helped her clean up after delivery. Her eyes had been glued to the small bundle in Cecily’s care.</p><p>Cecily stood only a short distance away, at the desk covered in towels, cooing in soothing Welsh as she cleaned the baby. The baby’s lungs must have been strong, for her wails were hearty. Tessa’s fears disappeared: her baby was alive.</p><p>The moment Tessa had finally dressed in new clothes, and Sophie stripped the bed, Cecily came and placed the bundle in Tessa’s arms, then quietly ventured into the dressing room with Charlotte and Sophie to change out of their soiled gear. Tessa peeled back the blanket and stared into the wailing face of the newest Herondale.</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p><em>James stared in utter amazement as Belial’s form withered away suddenly, drifting off like dust into the wind. </em>They did it, <em>James thought,</em> they freed the baby.</p><p>
  <em>His relief faded almost as quickly as it came. He launched his body onto the ground beside him, where Lucie had sat up, blood dripping down her face. “Lucie!” he cried, fumbling for his stele. “By the Angel, are you all right?”</em>
</p><p><em>Lucie stared, dazed, at the empty space where Belial had stood. He quickly drew an </em>iratze<em> on her and began to breathe again when the cut slowly started to close. “Mam—” Lucie whispered. James helped her stand from the ground as Matthew appeared beside him, breathing heavily.</em></p><p>
  <em>“Oh, Lucie, thank the Angel you’re okay,” he said. He turned to James. “Cordelia went back inside. She’s calling for you both. Your mother is in labor.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>James quickly lifted his sister up into his arms, ignoring the sharp pain that shot up his leg, and dashed inside the Institute.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>…</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, she’s beautiful!” Lucie cried. Tessa smiled, looking between her older daughter and the younger. “What is her name?”</p><p>Will shifted beside Tessa. He had his arms around her, brushing their newborn daughter’s face with his finger with a pure smile. Tessa giggled at how large his single finger was compared to the baby’s face. “Elizabeth,” Will answered, his voice gentle. “But we will call her Ella.”</p><p>A sharp gasp sounded from the foot of the bed. Cecily stood there, her hand over her mouth, her blue eyes shining over with tears. Gabriel wrapped an arm around her. “Really?” she whispered. Tessa smiled and nodded.</p><p>“Really,” Will answered. He smiled at Cecily affectionately. Tessa squeezed his hand. They had talked at great lengths about what to name their miracle baby. It only made sense to give her the name Elizabeth—for Tessa’s mother, the Shadowhunter who never knew she was a Shadowhunter. The name also allowed for the nickname of Ella, who Will wanted to include in his family again. It was special to him, so it was special to Tessa—and obviously, it was very special to Cecily, too. “And Cecy,” Will continued, “we’d like you to be her godmother.”</p><p>Will’s sister dropped the blanket she was holding. “Me?” Cecily asked in disbelief.</p><p>“If you are willing,” Tessa said gently. Cecily had been her absolute saint through the months that there was never any question in her mind who she wanted to be her child’s godmother. Will had been in full support of it immediately; proud, even.</p><p>Will smiled at his sister as he rocked the baby in his and Tessa’s arms. “We know you must have enough to deal with, having three children yourself, but we would be forever grateful to have you be Ella’s godmother.”</p><p>“Yes!” Cecily exclaimed automatically, clapping her hands together. Her face was stained with the few tears she had shed when she learned the baby’s name, but her eyes were bright; her smile was contagious. “Yes, absolutely I will be Ella’s godmother!” Gabriel smiled at her lovingly. It made Tessa all the more excited for what she had to say next.</p><p>“Gabriel,” she said. He turned. “We’d like you to be Ella’s godfather.” Cecily laughed through her tears, but the smile on her face remained. Gabriel stared at them shocked. Will chuckled.</p><p>“Yes, we’re being serious,” he said. “As much as it pains me—“ Tessa elbowed him—“you’ve been of great help throughout the years, not only as my sister’s husband but as my children’s uncle. I don’t think I could ever repay you for what you’ve done for James.”</p><p>“Oh, please, Uncle Gabriel!” Lucie exclaimed excitedly. “How sweet it would be for you and Aunt Cecily to be Ella’s godparents!”</p><p>Gabriel recovered from his shock. “Well, of course I’ll be Ella’s godfather,” he said with a great smile. “I’m honored.”</p><p>Ella reached her hand up in that moment. James, who had been silent until then, reached out his finger. Ella grabbed a hold of it and gripped it tight; her big brother smiled. “She is much cuter than I remember Lucie being.” He let out a soft grunt. Lucie had dug her elbow into his side with a scowl, but he smiled anyway. Ella opened her eyes.</p><p>“Hello Ella,” Tessa cooed, lowering her swaddle to see more of her face. Ella looked around the room. “That is your brother, James,” she whispered as Ella pulled James’s finger closer. “And your sister, Lucie.” Lucie moved closer to see Ella’s face. She made a sound of awe. Tessa continued on, introducing her Aunt Cecily and Uncle Gabriel. Anna and Christopher quietly stepped into the room with Alexander, so Tessa introduced them as well. For now, only blood family had been allowed in the room, but Tessa looked forward to showing Ella all the rambunctious members of their extended family.</p><p>“Welcome to the world, Ella Herondale,” Will said. Tessa saw a tear drip down his cheek, and Cecily made a quiet noise. “We have been waiting for you.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. You're Sweet on Her (Gideon & Gabriel Lightwood)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p>The only light in the tunnel beamed from the Lightwood brothers; a witchlight in each of their left hands, a sword in their right. It was eerily silent; no sign of any life, or automaton, or even furniture anywhere. There had been several tunnels branching from the large room that Gabriel, Gideon, Sophie, Cecily, Charlotte, Henry, Bridget, Cyril, and Magnus Bane had Portaled outside of. It was with dread that Gabriel realized they would all need to split up: Charlotte and Henry, Magnus, Sophie and Cecily, Bridget and Cyril, and Gabriel and Gideon.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Gideon turned to him as soon at they split from Sophie and Cecily with a look of both pride and absolute terror. Gabriel felt for his brother; Gideon had just watched his future wife venture into an unknown mountain with only a few months of training. A feeling, Gabriel acknowledged and then deeply surpressed, he shared all too well. They walked further into the tunnel, finding it even more dark and silent the longer they walked. “So,” Gideon whispered, breaking the uneasy peace. “You’re sweet on Cecily. I did not see that coming.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Gabriel nearly dropped his witchlight. He stared at his brother, stammering. “<em>What?</em>”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Gideon smiled, amused, which seemed so out of place in the dark, potentially lethal cave. They stood side by side, quickly but carefully checking every doorway and window for any sight of their fellow Institute inhabitants. “Oh, don’t bother denying it. You fancy Cecily Herondale. You are terrible at hiding your emotions, Gabriel.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“And what of it, then, if I do?” Gabriel clipped. He pressed his back to the stone, waiting for Gideon to check the corridor for any signs of life. He could not believe they were having this conversation. “That hardly seems important right now.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Gideon stepped through the next opening and gestured for Gabriel to follow. He did, and turned to cover his brother’s back. “It is important,” Gideon said, just as quietly as he had before. Gabriel noticed that despite the definite expansiveness of Cadair Idris, their voices did not echo. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They fell into a silent agreement. Gabriel’s thoughts filled, then, with the sudden fear that Gideon was right. He would care if something happened to Cecily. He would care quite a lot.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The silence broke again with the sound of a startled scream. Gideon whirled around and looked at Gabriel with wide, terrified eyes. “Sophie.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>They ran, faster than he could remember ever running, toward the sound. </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The Long Ride Back (Cecily Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>“I will drive for you. It will be little trouble; Bailos and Xanthos know the way. Henry can drive the Lightwoods.” -Will to Jem, CP2, p. 55</p><p>Takes place after the battle at Chiswick House against Benedict Lightworm, in which Will takes the Institute carriage back with Jem and Tessa and Cecily is left to ride with the Lightwoods.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p>“We could take you with us, Tati, to the Institute—“</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“No,” Tatiana snapped. “You will take me to the Blackthorns’.” Cecily sat silent across from Tatiana Blackthorn, perturbed by the way Tatiana acted. She was still dressed in her blood soaked gown, and Cecily decided she was better off staring out the window of the Lightwoods’ carriage and pretending she was not present for the current Lightwood sibling tension. That bastard, Will, leaving her on the steps of Chiswick House to ride back with all the Lightwoods. </p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Gideon tensed beside her, but it was Gabriel who responded. “Henry!” he called out the other window. “May we make a stop in Kensington, please? My sister wishes to be left with the Blackthorns.”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>It took much of Cecily’s remaining energy not to groan, being forced to spend even more time in that awkward carriage. Gabriel Lightwood had helped her to her feet in the garden, and complimented her, and yet she might as well have been sitting on the top of the carriage for all anyone paid attention to her now. She supposed she could not blame them, though, as their father had just died and Tatiana’s husband was dead. She just wished she was anywhere else but there. It felt like such an intrusion; perhaps she would attempt to climb out the window to ride with Henry instead—</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“Miss Herondale?” </p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Cecily snapped out of her self pity and turned. Gideon Lightwood was looking at her quizzically. “Are you all right?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yes,” she answered, folding her hands demurely in her lab. It felt strange, too, to be sitting in a carriage full of people she was not related to, and while wearing trousers, her hands bare. “Don’t mind me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Tatiana seemed to take her statement to heart, as she returned to her lamenting about the family name, and how she was going to break the news to her husband’s family. As hysterical and dramatic as she might have been, Cecily truly could not imagine doing just that. Gabriel, who was also soaked in blood, attempted to quell Tatiana’s nerves, but it was proving fruitless. How could Gideon and Gabriel possibly be related to her, Cecily wondered. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She returned to her quiet staring of the passing city. She’d never gone through Chiswick or Kensington before. Will had only taken her to the major locations in London that were near to the Institute. It was strange, she noted, to see so many buildings and people everywhere; and it was so gray. The bickers of the Lightwood siblings blended into the sounds of the city as they rode.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The carriage pulled to a halt in front of rather modest looking Victorian townhome. Why Tatiana would rather stay here than in the large expanse of the Institute, Cecily did not want to bother to ask. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I will take her to the door,” Gideon said quietly, hopping out the door opposite where Cecily sat. After a moment, the door on Cecily’s side opened and Gideon lifted his hand to help his sister exit. Her face was pinched in distaste, but she took it and left the carriage. The door to the manor opened, and Tatiana immediately returned to hysterics and bolted to the door, Gideon hurrying after her. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m sorry about my sister,” Gabriel Lightwood said tonelessly. He sat across from her, his face lowered, now, to look at his hands that were still stained red. “She is not one to handle shock quietly.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Cecily turned to him. She understood, without needing to be told, that Gideon had taken Tatiana to the door because he was not the brother covered in blood. She heard the shrieks of several people as more surely saw the state of Tatiana’s dress and lack of Rupert Blackthorn. “I believe it is I who should apologize to you,” she replied evenly. She was unsure what to do with her hands; she had never been left alone in a carriage with a boy who was not her brother before. “I feel as if I’ve been intruding on such private family matters. Perhaps I should go ride with Henry.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Gabriel looked up at her and frowned, but Gideon threw open the carriage door before he could answer. “Gracious,” Gideon exclaimed and plopped down beside his brother. “I don’t think I could stand there another second. I cannot imagine the grief they must be going through.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I can,” Gabriel muttered, then turned to face the window and did not speak again. Cecily bit her lip. She could still ride with Henry—</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The carriage began moving again. She closed her eyes and hoped that the ride from Kensington back to Fleet Street was not a long one. </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Kiss You Each Morning (Gabriel & Cecily)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>based on the song "Blueberry Eyes" by MAX (feat. SUGA of BTS) [English Translation Lyrics]</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em><br/>
<br/>
Well, damn, you look so good / Laying there wearing nothing but my t-shirt / Your body's a neighborhood / Wanna drive my lips all around it</em>
</p><p><em> <br/>
</em>Gabriel Lightwood had never given marriage much thought. He supposed, growing up, that he would marry some day of course, in order to please his father and continue the Lightwood bloodline. It was not until he met Cecily Herondale, however, that Gabriel ever considered the possibility that he wanted to marry purely for love. And love did not even begin to describe the way Gabriel felt about Cecily Herondale.<br/>
<br/>
“Are you cold?” he asked her that night, shrugging off his coat before she’d even had a chance to respond. Snow fell in a gentle swirl of wind around them, slowly blanketing the London ground. Snowflakes dotted Cecily’s dark hair, dampening it as they melted, and more snowflakes took their place. She turned her head to face him and smiled. Her smile rivaled the beauty of the snow around them, Gabriel thought to himself, losing his train of thought for a moment.<br/>
<br/>
“I have my own coat, you know,” said Cecily with amusement. Gabriel ignored this and draped his coat around her shoulders, admiring the way she nearly disappeared into it. He was left only with his suit jacket, but as long as Cecily was happy and warm, he’d endure the Arctic tundra. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked, her head tilted back to face the gray skies. “It is so peaceful when it snows, as if all the sounds in the world just fade away in it. I can’t ever get enough.”<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel did not answer immediately. Instead, he watched the way her eyelashes fluttered with the weight of the snowflakes landing across her face, and the gentle curve of her pink lips into a content smile. His heart pounded against his chest, both in adoration and anticipation. His body felt alight with electricity with her near him, a feeling that brought both peace and excitement into his life and he had yet to figure out how someone could feel both at once. A smile broke out across his own face. “It is,” he answered finally, his voice soft.<br/>
<br/>
Cecily closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, unbothered by the winter chill going into her lungs. If only he had a camera; he wanted to remember her like this; engulfed in his winter coat, her raven hair standing out against the white snow, moments before he would do perhaps the most fearsome thing he’d ever do.<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel lowered himself onto one knee. “Cecy,” he whispered. She turned and quickly flickered her eyes in surprise, expecting to look up at him instead of down. Her lovely blue eyes went wide. “Will you marry me?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>'Cause I'm holding my breath / Wondering when / You're gonna wake up in my arms / Head on my chest / My heart's beating / I can't wait to</em>
</p><p> </p><p>There had never been so many meetings and parties in the London Institute in all of Gabriel Lightwood’s nearly twenty years on earth. This night was just like the others; full of important people wearing important clothes discussing important things and refusing to hear his or any other of the Institute inhabitants’ opinions on any matter while only begrudgingly heeded Will’s solely on the fact that he was now the head of the London Enclave.</p><p>Gabriel sat along the wall of the library, slumped against an old wooden bench that made him distantly consider the possibility of splinters in his backside. He listened to the conversations happening around him, waiting for his chance to put in his opinion on a matter and hope his brother would support him. Gideon sat at the important table, beside Will, with Tessa and Sophie on either side of him. Perhaps when he was married, like his brother was, he would have a place at the table. Taken seriously, welcomed, and heeded, as marriage was for men; not boys.<br/>
<br/>
The bench shifted beside him and Gabriel tore his gaze away to look. Cecily sat straight, brushing her hands along her skirt until it bellowed out like a lady before her. She wore no gloves tonight, as the Institute was her home, and it allowed for Gabriel’s eyes to follow the gentle curve of her fingers until they landed on the silver band she wore, engraved with a flame, and worn with pride. “Why haven’t you said anything yet?” she asked in a hushed tone.<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel looked up at her and immediately found himself lost in her eyes. “Said what?” he heard himself ask distantly.<br/>
<br/>
Cecily clicked her tongue in mock annoyance, but her eyes sparkled. “You are a member of the Enclave. You have a voice here. Why don’t you use it?”<br/>
<br/>
“They don’t seem to like the sound of my voice, I’m afraid.”<br/>
<br/>
She smiled, mischief slyly hidden in the gentle curve of the corners of her mouth. “Pity. I rather like the sound of your voice.”<br/>
<br/>
Cecily Herondale was not an adult member of the Enclave, yet. But, after several incidents involving one fearless girl and several broken floorboards, Will declared that his sister was to be an honorary attendee at Enclave meetings, if not for anything else, because she was his ward and he couldn’t possibly keep an eye on her if he was stuck in meetings all day. Gabriel wondered if anyone else had figured out that Cecily’s incidents were deliberate.<br/>
<br/>
He smiled back at her. “It’s late. Aren’t you tired?”<br/>
<br/>
She shrugged. “A bit, I suppose. But it is just so riveting in here. All this talk of weaponry reports and building remodels really makes a girl feel alive.”<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel glanced at the meeting continuing before them, then back at Cecily, who had been in the middle of a yawn and seemed quite determined to pretend she hadn’t been.<br/>
<br/>
Thirty minutes later, while considering declaring this meeting nonsense and demanding that everyone be sent to bed instead, Gabriel felt a weight against his shoulder. He turned his chin toward Cecily, whose head was slumped with her cheek pressed against the top of his shoulder, her eyes closed and lips parted slightly. His heart jumped as he flicked his eyes back and forth from the Enclave at the table and his fiancé beside him. No one paid them any attention at their spot along the wall. He watched Cecily instead, now, as her chest rose and fell with soft breaths. She was beautiful, Gabriel thought, and incredible. To go from stubbornly refusing to go to bed to asleep on his shoulder; that was his fiancé. He wouldn’t trade her for the world.<br/>
<br/>
Gently, and ever so quietly, Gabriel sank lower and adjusted her head so that it fit within the dip of his neck and shoulder rather than pressed along the sharp, bony end of his shoulder blade. Any business thoughts that had been in his mind were gone now, replaced with the wishful images of him and Cecily, married, in which he would one day soon be able to fall asleep with her curled up in his arms, her head on his chest. He would tell himself it was for her, to make her feel safe, but he knew deep down that it was mostly for him; to remind himself that he can be loved, and that by some divine intervention, he’d finally married the perfect girl for him. Then, as if life couldn’t get any better, he would wake up every morning and look into beautiful blue eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Kiss you each morning / With strawberry skies / 'Cause I get so lost in / Your blueberry eyes / I'm running through my dreams to / See you in the light / 'Cause I get so lost in / Your blueberry eyes</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Sunlight streamed into Gabriel’s eyes from the windows, waking him from a deep sleep. He blinked, momentarily unaware of where he was or what he was doing. He prepared himself to sit up and orient himself but stopped short when he realized there was a weight on his chest. Still blinking through his sleepiness, he recognized the pool of black hair and pale skin curled against his body. Memories of the day before flooded Gabriel’s mind; of wedding vows and dancing, gold skirts and wedding runes.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Wedding runes.</em><br/>
<br/>
Gabriel turned his head and looked at his left forearm. A new, glistening black rune stared back at him, one he’d never thought he’d wear and had yet to get used to. His eyes trailed up toward his chest beside Cecily’s head, where the other wedded union rune had been carefully placed the night before. Blankets were tangled around them, soft golden curtains strewn closed around the bed in a secluded paradise. Finally, aware of his surroundings, Gabriel turned back to his wife in his arms.<br/>
<br/>
He slowly trailed his fingers along her bare back, admiring her in sleep. Her body fit so perfectly against his that he had begun to believe the stories of soulmates, and of missing puzzle pieces. Her soft pink lips were parted in content sleep; her hair spilled around her face like a painting. Scars from faded Marks dotted her skin, but Gabriel’s eyes were drawn to the edges of the matching rune to his against her collarbone.<br/>
<br/>
“How long do you plan to stare?” Cecily mumbled against his skin, stirring awake.<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel only smiled fondly at her. “For the rest of my life, I think.”<br/>
<br/>
A soft smile grew on her face. Her eyelashes fluttered before she opened her eyes. She looked up at him, blinking sleepy blue eyes, her chin planted in the dip of his shoulder. Gabriel’s fingers froze against her back, losing himself in her eyes, before she laughed and pressed her lips against his shoulder. “Earth to Gabriel,” she said. “What are you thinking?”<br/>
<br/>
“That I must still be dreaming,” he whispered. Cecily paused for a moment before she slowly lifted her arm and trailed her fingers against the rune over his heart.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re not dreaming.” She pressed another kiss against his shoulder, beginning a trail of kisses up his neck and against his jaw. Gabriel’s eyes fluttered shut, wanting to remember the feeling. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten last night already,” she added with a tease.<br/>
<br/>
His eyes flew open again, scanning over their tangled sheets and bodies. “Absolutely not,” he replied, meeting her eyes once more.<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel was unsure what happened then, but the moment he met her eyes again, he could see the rest of his life before him. Patrolling and adventuring together, without a chaperone, making the perfect team. Seeing Cecily’s face supporting him in Clave meetings, and the pride in his chest watching her prove her superiority to every other Shadowhunter in Idris and London. Even the sound of the patter of little feet across Lightwood Manor belonging not only to their nieces but their own children and grandchildren.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>A ray of light cutting through my shadow / You flipped my life that had been dark / Maybe I'm nothing / Before I met you, I was nobody / I used to mean so little / My life before you was / Only hurrying through the day, yeah / Our days, our nights, okay, our lives /<br/>
U-A-R-E-M-Y light, friends who support each other, each other’s anchor</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Listen, this is a great idea,” Cecily declared as she dangled from the side of Westminster Abbey from only a thin rope tied loosely around her waist. Gabriel looked up at her hesitantly from the ground, holding with a tight grip the other end of the rope after it wrapped a turret to do whatever he could to prevent her from hurtling to the ground. “I only have great ideas.”<br/>
<br/>
“You have dangerous ideas,” Gabriel said under his breath. “I am in a perpetual state of heart attacks.”<br/>
<br/>
“I heard that,” she called back, smirking, with a gesture to her enhanced hearing rune. “You always said life with me was exciting. I aim to deliver.”<br/>
<br/>
He shook his head, half in resignation and half in fondness for the fearless girl he married. This was not to say he did not enjoy patrolling with Cecily; quite the contrary. Hours alone together meant they could steal kisses without hearing the loud complaints of his now brother-in-law. But patrol was patrol, they were Nephilim, and when Cecily’s pendant lit up as they approached the heart of Parliament Square, it was now purely business.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m up,” Cecily called, breaking through Gabriel’s thoughts. “It’s clear, for now. Hurry!”<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel did just that, climbing swiftly up after her until his feet were once again planted firmly on even flooring on the roof of the church. The soft red glow of Cecily’s pendant provided just enough light to see her face; determined and fearless as always. Hunting demons with Cecily was starkly different than any other hunting mission or patrol he’d ever done. Will was all jokes and insults; Gideon a man on a mission and someone Gabriel had always trusted without thinking about it. But with Cecily, she was more than a partner. She was his wife and his best friend. There was so much at stake for him now on these patrols, something he’d never considered before. Before her, there was only Shadowhunting. To give his life to the Nephilim young was something he’d always expected.<br/>
<br/>
But now, following a demon through the narrow corridors of Westminster Abbey in the dead of night, unseen to any mundane, Gabriel had found a light in his life: someone who made the day worth living, too. Cecily had always been a natural Shadowhunter, but her thrill for the hunt reminded him of why he loved being a Shadowhunter in the first place.<br/>
<br/>
They spilled outside, covered in dirt and scratches, but alive with the thrill of another successful hunt. “Do you think they’ll notice that we knocked a plaque off the wall?” Cecily asked, laughing, as she drew her stele from her belt.<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel shook his head, chuckling quietly. “With the thousands of other plaques plastered across this building? I think it may be a while.”<br/>
<br/>
They were both perfectly capable of drawing <em>iratzes</em> on themselves, but it was their silent expression of love and duty to one another to draw the other’s healing runes. The Wedded Union rune was purely symbolic, but they both liked to believe that their runes were stronger when the other drew it. Cecily drew his first, against his neck.<br/>
<br/>
He drew his stele next, lifting his hand to cup her face in his palm to tilt her head and place an <em>iratze</em> on her own neck. He stopped as his skin touched hers. “Are you feeling all right?” he asked, concern flooding his voice as he applied the rune. “You feel warm. Are you flush?”<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel looked back into her eyes after finishing the rune, looking closely at her appearance to find any signs of sickness. She only smiled at him and nodded. “I feel fine, <em>bach</em>,” she replied. “You needn’t worry.”<br/>
<br/>
He furrowed his eyebrows and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Are you sure?”<br/>
<br/>
“Perfectly,” she breathed. Then: “I’m pregnant.”<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel blinked. “You’re pregnant?” he whispered, failing to restrain the hope in his tone. Cecily smiled brightly, her blue eyes shining in the moonlight.<br/>
<br/>
“Yes”—she bunched the fabric of his gear jacket in her fist and brought her face close to his— “I’m pregnant, Gabriel. With a baby. Our baby.”<br/>
<br/>
He pressed his lips against hers and held her body close to his, pouring every ounce of gratefulness and love into the gesture that he could. They smiled against each other before he finally pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, staring deep into those blue eyes.<br/>
<br/>
There was a time when Gabriel Lightwood had once thought he was incapable of love, receiving or giving. Then came along Cecily Herondale, now Cecily Lightwood, with her name written all over his heart in permanent ink until there was no space left.<br/>
<br/>
But there was always more room for love. And Gabriel Lightwood’s heart made room that night for another name.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>Kiss you each morning / With strawberry skies / I get so lost in / Your blueberry eyes / I'm running through my dreams to / See you in the light / 'Cause I get so lost in / Your blueberry eyes</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Gabriel Lightwood knew before ever opening his eyes what was about to greet him.<br/>
<br/>
Soft giggles grew closer to the bed he shared with Cecily accompanied by bursts of little feet pattering across the floor. A quiet “shh” sounded from Gabriel’s side of the bed. He forced himself to withhold his smile, not wanting to spoil his children’s fun.<br/>
<br/>
Against him, he felt Cecily shaking gently with concealed laughter. This was not the first time they were to be woken this way, but they’d never complained. In fact, Gabriel hoped he would be woken like this for as long as possible.<br/>
<br/>
The next moment, small bodies landed on top of them, giggling and squirming. “Mama! Papa! Time to wake up!” came a loud, small voice.<br/>
<br/>
“Wake up!” echoed another voice, followed by more laughter. Little bodies continued to crawl and squirm across the bed and his body. It was growing harder and harder for Gabriel to hide his joy.<br/>
<br/>
“Papa!” came the first voice again, right above his face.<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel’s eyes flew open and he shot forward, grabbing his daughter and hugging her close, peppering her face with kisses. “Anna!” he shouted back as he did so, fighting playfully against her squirming as she laughed and laughed.</p><p>Cecily shot up beside him and caught their son in her arms. He shouted in surprise but did not fight against his mother’s embrace. Instead, he melted into her arms and grinned happily. “Mornin’ Mama,” he said.<br/>
<br/>
“Good morning, Christopher, my love,” Cecily answered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head full of brown curls.</p><p>Anna continued to squirm against Gabriel’s grip, being more energetic at five years old than her brother. “Mama, Papa, may we play in the park today? Please?”<br/>
<br/>
Gabriel smiled at his daughter and son, who pleaded with him with wide eyes and chubby cheeks. He looked up at Cecily, who wore the same face as their children. “I have a meeting with your uncles this morning, but how about a picnic for lunch? You may play after you eat. Does that sound like fun?”<br/>
<br/>
Anna and Christopher immediately nodded and flashed toothy smiles. Cecily reached across Gabriel to pull Anna into her arms so that she held both their children in her grasp. “And that, my loves, gives us plenty of time to get into trouble, doesn’t it?” she schemed, squishing her face against theirs. It was then, in the midst of their scheming, that Gabriel caught all three of their mischievous eyes, crinkled up in amusement and excitement as they cuddled together beside him.</p><p>He could only smile, and smile, and smile at them; his wife, his daughter, and his son. His <em>family</em>. And Gabriel Lightwood would always get lost in their blueberry eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Mi Luz (Gideon Lightwood)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Only a dad, but he gives his all / To smooth the way for his children small, / Doing, with courage stern and grim, / The deeds that his father did for him. / This is the line that for him I pen, / Only a dad, but the best of men." || Only a Dad by Edgar Albert Guest</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Daddy,” whimpered Barbara, reaching her little arms up toward her father with her wide hazel eyes, wet with tears. “Don’t go.”</p>
<p>Gideon lowered himself onto his knees beside her bed. “It’s all right, Barbara, I’m right here,” he said gently. He smiled at his little girl, who looked so much like her mother that Gideon could have never imagined getting so lucky. Barbara always looked at him with such trust, and admiration, that he would drop anything at a moment’s notice for her. “Daddy’s here.”</p>
<p>She curled into his arms, fitting perfectly against his shoulder. If only she could stay this size forever, with her hair ribbons and excitement to see him. “I don’t like the bells,” Barbara stated, burying her face in his shirt. “They’re loud.”</p>
<p>“I know, darling,” Gideon answered, rubbing her back soothingly. “But you are quite safe here. I promise.” He placed a light kiss on the top of her head. “You mum and I would never let anything hurt you.”</p>
<p>Barbara nodded. “Uncle Gabe, too.”</p>
<p>Gideon laughed, surprised by her contribution. “Yes, Uncle Gabriel, too. I’d certainly give him the boot if he did not keep you safe, mi luz.”</p>
<p>“Mi luz,” Barbara repeated. “What’s that?”</p>
<p>Gideon smiled. “It’s Spanish,” he told her, glancing up toward the doorway, where Sophie stood watching with a smile. “It means ‘my light.’ Because you are the light of my life, Barbara. La luz de mi vida. You and your mother.”</p>
<p>“Mummy says you talk in Spanish when you are happy.”</p>
<p>“Mummy is right,” he said, squeezing his daughter closer to him. “I love you, Barbara. Daddy will always be here for you, okay? Always. No matter how big you get.”</p>
<p>“I love you, too, Daddy,” she answered, her voice laced with exhaustion. “Stay?”</p>
<p>“Of course,” he confirmed. “Goodnight, my love.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. First Words (Lightwood-Herondale Family)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Cecily and Gabriel say the words "I love you" so often, to each other and their children, that it's no surprise what their first words turn out to be...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>i. Anna</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The first time Anna Lightwood spoke a coherent word was late at night, when she very much should have been fast asleep.</p>
<p>“Anna, please, go to sleep,” her father pleaded, bouncing her in his arms in the nursery. Anna giggled, clapping her small hands together in excitement. Her big, blue eyes that matched her mother so perfectly gleamed up at him. Gabriel sighed, falling victim to Anna’s charm. “You’re just like your mother. You know exactly how to break me down.”</p>
<p>“Wonderful,” came Cecily’s voice behind him. She appeared at his side and pinched Anna’s cheeks, which made her crinkle her nose. “You are learning well, my love. Soon, we’ll be able to convince your father to do absolutely anything!”</p>
<p>“Don’t encourage her,” Gabriel lamented, but he was smiling. “You stress me out enough as it is.” At Cecily’s side eye, he added: “In a very loving, not life-threatening heart-attack-inducing kind of way.”</p>
<p>Cecily smiled. “Ah. I love you, too.”</p>
<p>“Wuv!”</p>
<p>Gabriel and Cecily paused, staring wide eyed at each other, then at Anna. Anna tilted her head, as if to ask her parents why they looked so shocked. “Anna,” Gabriel said slowly, hugging his daughter a bit closer to him. “What did you say?”</p>
<p>Anna grinned proudly. She pushed her head forward, toward her father, and balled her little hands into fists. “Wuv!”</p>
<p>Gabriel exhaled, a large, bright smile growing across his face. “Love?”</p>
<p>“Wuv.”</p>
<p>Cecily let out a shriek of excitement and pulled Anna out of Gabriel’s arms to hug her close. “Anna! Your first word!” She kissed Anna’s cheek and spun around, turning right into Gabriel’s chest, where he wrapped his arms around them both. “I love you, Anna,” Cecily said to her daughter. “I love you so, so much.”</p>
<p>“Wuv!” Anna nodded, confirming her word choice. It was no surprise that little Anna Lightwood’s first word was love; her parents said it so often it would have been more surprising if it weren’t her first word. They always said it to each other and to her, to her uncles Will and Gideon and Aunts Tessa and Sophie, and to her cousins Barbara and Eugenia. It was a word she heard so often, she must have thought it was very, very important.</p>
<p>Her father held her head in his hand and beamed. “I love you, too, Anna. Papa loves you very, very much.”</p>
<p>“Wuv!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>ii. Christopher</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Kit,” Anna scolded, shaking a small finger at her brother. “Don’t do that! Mam will be very mad!”</p>
<p>“Don’t scare your brother, Anna,” said their father, who watched them carefully over the edge of his newspaper. Anna and Christopher sat together on the shaggy run in the family room, playing peacefully with their wooden blocks in front of the fireplace. “He’s still learning.”</p>
<p>Anna pouted, but listened to her father and plopped down on the floor beside her brother. Christopher, who until that moment had not paid his elder sister any attention, glanced up. His brown curls were tossed wildly atop his head.</p>
<p>Christopher looked like his father, much to Gabriel’s silent delight. They shared the characteristic Lightwood brown hair, unlike his mother and sister who shared the Herondale hair. It also seemed to help Kit find his parents when he got lost—all he had to do was find the grown up who looked like him.</p>
<p>Though, sometimes, Kit did end up tugging on his uncle Gideon’s trousers instead of his father’s; but, then again, little Christopher Lightwood was only 10 months old.</p>
<p>“Christopher, my love, what are you building there?” asked his mother, who emerged from the adjacent room and sat herself beside Gabriel. She perched on the edge of the sofa and leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, giving her children her full attention.</p>
<p>The young boy blinked at his mother and pointed to the wooden blocks he and Anna had been arranging. They currently formed a large tower, one which only Anna could reach the top, but for a toddler and infant, it was an impressive feat. “Guess what it is, Mam!” Anna said, holding her chin up proudly.</p>
<p>Cecily leaned further out and gasped. “Is—Is that the Institute?”</p>
<p>Gabriel lowered his paper and leaned out beside her, looking at the block structure his children had been working so diligently on. His eyes widened. “It definitely looks like the Institute.”</p>
<p>“It is the Institute, Papa!” Anna exclaimed. “Kit pushed the big ones. I did the little ones on top. They are too high for him.”</p>
<p>“It’s wonderful, my loves,” Cecily said, smiling brightly at them. “You did a fantastic job. Do you love it?”</p>
<p>Anna opened her mouth to answer, but it was Kit who the sound came from. “I wub oo.”</p>
<p>Gabriel lost his balance and slipped off the sofa onto the floor. “Pardon?” he choked, staring wide eyed at his son, who he was now at eye-level with. Kit looked at his father curiously.</p>
<p>Cecily gasped and brushed Kit’s cheek with her thumb. “Did you say something, Kit? Can you say it again for Mam?”</p>
<p>Kit only stared, his uniquely lavender eyes analyzing everything around him, including his mother’s face. Anna leaned in close. “You can say it, Kit. Say ‘I love you’ again!”</p>
<p>His little eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Then: “I wub oo.”</p>
<p>Cecily lowered herself down onto her knees, beside where Gabriel had fallen, and beamed at her son. “I love you, Christopher. Mam loves you.”</p>
<p>“Papa loves you, too,” Gabriel chimed in, ruffling Kit’s curls.</p>
<p>Anna frowned. “Do I love Kit?”</p>
<p>“Of course, love. He’s your brother.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” said Anna. She turned to Christopher. “I love you, too, Kit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>iii. Alexander</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ah, you little brat,” Anna laughed, dodging her youngest brother’s tiny, yet mighty, slaps. Alex reached up at her from his bassinet, curling his little hands into fists and uncurling them again. He was grinning cheekily back at her.</p>
<p>Her mother smiled at her from the other side. “It’s all you and your brother’s doing,” Cecily told her, wiping the last bits of Alex’s dinner from his face. He scowled in protest. “Teaching him to be a troublemaker is what you lot are doing.”</p>
<p>“And here I thought it was the Herondale genes,” Anna answered. A distant <em>you’re right</em> came from down the hall, where her father’s study was. Cecily huffed.</p>
<p>“Mam,” the remaining member of the Lightwood-Herondale family said, sauntering into the family room with a sheepish look on his face. Anna tried her hardest to stifle a laugh at her mother’s exasperated expression.</p>
<p>“Christopher Lightwood, what on <em>earth</em> have you done to your shirt?”</p>
<p>Even little Alexander Lightwood peered over the edge of his bassinet to look at his older brother, who stood in the entryway with an unknown substance of the color green splattered across his shirt. The cuffs, too, had been singed, leaving behind a remarkably even edge of orange-black soot. “In the pursuit of science, I believe I must have miscalculated my measurements.”</p>
<p>Cecily sighed. “Gabriel,” she called in no urgent tone—only the tone of a mother of three who had, at this point, seen it all. “Gabriel, dear, please come help Christopher clean up and find a new shirt.”</p>
<p>“Done it again, has he?” Gabriel emerged from his study and shook his head with a smile. He held his arm out and motioned his son over. “C’mere Kit, I believe I still have those spare shirts we ordered the last time we went to the shop stashed about here somewhere.”</p>
<p>Christopher began moving toward his father, then paused and turned back to Cecily. “I love you, Mam,” he said with a small grin, attempting to appease her. “I promise the table is still in perfect working order, aside from—”</p>
<p>“Wuv woo!” Alex giggled, patting the floor of the bassinet. “Wuv woo!”</p>
<p>Kit blinked. “Did he just say something?”</p>
<p>“By the Angel, what are the odds,” Cecily exclaimed with glee, lifting her youngest child into her arms and onto her lap. Alex stuck his fist in his mouth.</p>
<p>“The odds of what?” Anna asked, puzzled. “Of saying his first words? Don’t we all?”</p>
<p>Gabriel approached behind Cecily and rested his hands on her shoulders, looking at his youngest son with glee. “All of your first words were <em>love</em>,” he explained. He reached down and poked at Alex’s nose. The infant merely peered up at his father over his slobbery fist. “I didn’t think it was possible for all children to have the same first word.”</p>
<p>Anna scoffed. “Well, I oughta expect it. You two say the word so often I’m more surprised it isn’t the <em>only</em> word we know.”</p>
<p>Cecily and Gabriel ignored this comment from their daughter and cooed at Alex, who had begun to laugh once more at the renewed attention on him. “We love you, Alex. Mam and Papa love you!”</p>
<p>Christopher looked at Anna, eyes pleading to escape the room. Anna swiftly stood and fled the family room with him, leaving her parents to coo after their baby brother, who was definitely enjoying it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Papa's Little Girl (Will & Lucie Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Being a daddy’s girl is like having permanent armor for the rest of your life.” -Marinela Reka</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucie Herondale hardly knew fear.</p>
<p>Since she could remember, Lucie was surrounded by people who loved and protected her. There was her mother, who always read her stories and returned Lucie’s toothy grins. There was her brother, Jamie. She didn’t always like when he told her no, or that she needed to be careful. But when she slipped on the snow outside her home while chasing a bird through the garden, it was Jamie who helped her up and gave her a hug.</p>
<p>Then there was her Uncle Gabriel. Uncle Gabriel always snuck Lucie a chocolate when her father wasn’t looking; and he never said no when she requested a piggy-back ride. It also helped that Cousin Anna was older and had begun to think that piggy-back rides were no longer cool.</p>
<p>And there was Aunt Cecily. Aunt Cecily was Lucie’s favorite relative. Together they would get into bits of trouble, mostly to make her papa turn white in the face and exclaim that he needed to sit down before they made him have gray hair. Aunt Cecily also never let Lucie forget that girls were just as important as boys, and that she could do anything she set her little heart to. “Don’t let anyone ever say you can’t do something,” her aunt had told her. “That is for you to decide.”</p>
<p>But most of all, above anyone else, Lucie had her papa. She’d heard her mother, once, shake her head and say that Lucie had her papa wrapped around her tiny finger. She did not know what that was supposed to mean: her papa was obviously much too big to fit around her little finger.</p>
<p>Among Lucie’s fondest memories with her father was the night she saw her first ghost.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was late at night. Lucie should have been asleep, but she’d heard the doors of the Institute open and her father’s voice float through the halls. Lucie greatly enjoyed when he came home from patrols because it meant he would come in to check on her and tuck her blankets in.</p>
<p>But on this particular night, while eagerly awaiting her bedtime visit, she spotted a figure in her bedroom window. Lucie froze.</p>
<p>It was someone Lucie had never seen before. It was a man of a terribly sickly demeanor; his face was sunken and gray, as was the rest of his body. He gazed into her window, of which Lucie could not fathom how as her bedroom was on the third story of the London Institute.</p>
<p>She was frightened, so she did the first thing that came to mind. She screamed.</p>
<p>“PAPA!” She clutched at her blanket in her hands and stared, wide-eyed, at the figure out the window. It continued to stare, blankly, as if it did not see her at all.</p>
<p>Loud footsteps bounded down the hall, growing even louder as they got closer. “Papa,” she whimpered, knowing he would come for her. The door opened and her father hurried through the doorway.<br/><br/>“Lulu,” he said, moving swiftly to her side. “What is it? What’s wrong?”</p>
<p>“There’s a man in the window!”<br/><br/><br/></p>
<p><br/>Will Herondale had never turned his body faster in his life. Sure enough, outside his daughter’s window, was the figure of a man.</p>
<p>He knew immediately the figure was a ghost. He’d lived long enough and seen ghosts long enough to recognize them quickly, but it did not change the fact that a ghostly man was gazing into his little girl’s bedroom.</p>
<p>Furious, Will stood and marched to the window. “Git!” he shouted. “Have you any decency? This is Institute property!”</p>
<p>Upon the commotion, the shimmering form of Jessamine Lovelace emerged. Her face was pinched in horror. “You heard him. Leave now! This Institute is under <em>my protection</em>.”</p>
<p>“Go away!” cried Lucie’s little voice behind them.</p>
<p>The figure finally moved. It glanced quickly between the occupants of the room before vanishing completely. Will turned to Jessamine, who had already begun moving through the Institute and its grounds.</p>
<p>Trusting Jessamine to ensure that the figure was truly gone, and that there were no others left, Will hurried back to Lucie. She looked at him with shining blue eyes, wide with fright and her lip quivering. He immediately pulled her into his arms. “You’re all right, Lulu,” he told her as he cradled her to him. “He won’t hurt you. I promise.”</p>
<p>“It was scary,” she cried, burying her face into his shoulder. In her little hands she clutched her blanket, a gift Cecily had given her when she was born.</p>
<p>Will kissed her head. “I know, <em>cariad</em>. I know.”</p>
<p>He rocked her until her body had stopped shaking and her sniffles had lessened. “Papa,” she whispered after a while. “What was that man?”</p>
<p>“A ghost, Lucie,” he answered. “Like your Auntie Jessie.”</p>
<p>“Auntie Jessie is a ghost?” Lucie gasped. She sat upright in his lap and looked at him in wonder.</p>
<p>Will couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, she is. What did you think she was?”</p>
<p>Lucie shrugged. “A fairy.”</p>
<p>A disgusted grunt came from behind Will. “Imagine that,” Jessamine said, back from her sweep of the grounds. “A faerie. The likes of them. I am <em>not</em> a faerie.”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Auntie Jessie,” said Lucie sweetly.</p>
<p>Will smiled and pinched Lucie’s cheek. “You’re not scared of Jessie, are you?”</p>
<p>“No!” Lucie was offended.</p>
<p>Again came Jessamine’s voice. “Perhaps not, if you behave.” Before Will could reply, exasperated, Jessamine disappeared.</p>
<p>“Papa,” Lucie said again. Her eyes were big as she looked up at him. Will knew Tessa had been right about Lucie having him wrapped around her finger. “Please don’t leave.”</p>
<p>She’s got him again. “I won’t,” he promised. He bundled her back into his arms and squeezed, pulling a giggle from her. “You can’t get rid of me, dear Lucie. Your papa is here to stay forever.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Will leaned back against the pillows, and Lucie lay her whole body on his chest, he pondered.</p>
<p>How could a ghost pass Jessamine’s border without suspicion? And why was it peeping through Lucie’s window?</p>
<p>Lucie’s soft breaths against his neck kept Will from losing his temper. She was so peaceful when she slept that simply cradling her in her slumber was enough to calm Will from any agitation. But still—something nagged at him even more than the events of the night. Something that didn’t quite add up the more and more he thought about it.</p>
<p>
  <em>Why could Lucie see ghosts?</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Papa's Little Girl - Pt. 2: Aunt Cecily (Will, Lucie, & Cecily Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Everything Will believed has come into question. Only one person can help him figure it out: his sister, Cecily.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Will waited anxiously for family dinner the following evening.</p>
<p>Lucie had woken up in high spirits and hardly remembered seeing the man out her window. But Will remembered—and he’d been bothered.</p>
<p>When his sister finally arrived at the Institute, with his niece and nephew and the husband of hers he’d finally accepted as his brother-in-law, he was relieved.</p>
<p>“Uncle Will!” came two energetic voices. Will grinned and kneeled down, his arms wide, awaiting a massive tackling hug from Anna and little Christopher. They came crashing, giggling when he squeezed them both.</p>
<p>“Ah, the troublemakers are here!” he declared. He set them back down on the floor, their faces bright with wide grins. “The other troublemaker and her brother are in the parlor. Go see if you can find them.”</p>
<p>Anna and Christopher scampered off in pursuit of their cousins. “Cecy,” he said, greeting her with a hug. “Do you have a moment?”</p>
<p>She immediately eyed him with suspicion. “What do you want?”</p>
<p>Gabriel cleared his throat. “I’ll just find Tessa,” he said, following his children into the parlor with a plate of biscuits in his hands. When he disappeared, Will shrugged.</p>
<p>“Must I <em>want</em> something to speak to my sister?” he asked with some offense.</p>
<p>“Usually, yes, when you call me Cecy,” she replied. She raised her chin. “So what is it?”</p>
<p>Will rolled his eyes. “I only have a question,” he said. “Do you see ghosts?”</p>
<p>Cecily blinked at him in surprise. “Ghosts? Why would I see ghosts?”</p>
<p>“I was curious.” He pondered for a moment, debating whether to share his musings with her. After a moment, he decided that if he couldn’t trust his family, he couldn’t trust anyone—and Cecily was an original member. “Lucie saw a ghost last night and it frightened her. I had thought only James and I could see them like how Dad and I did. But now I wonder if you’d been able to see them, too.”</p>
<p>Cecily crossed her arms. Not angrily, or annoyed, but in great wonder. “I see where you’re coming from, but, no, I’ve never seen ghosts. I also thought it was just the men in the family.”</p>
<p>“That is why I am concerned.”</p>
<p>“You worry too much,” Cecily said. “Children often see ghosts. They grow out of it. Anna could see Jessamine. I assume I also could see them when I was little.”</p>
<p>“You cried too much, that’s what you did.”</p>
<p>Will took a quick step back in automatic response to Cecily raising a fist at him. “Cheeky,” she snapped.</p>
<p>“Besides,” Will added, ignoring her. “Anna grew out of it quickly. Lucie is five. If she can see them, what does that mean for the Herondale line?”</p>
<p>Cecily sighed, exasperated. “You forget I am a Herondale by blood, too, you idiot,” she said. “If that were the case, and female Herondales pass on the ability to see ghosts too, don’t you think both Anna and Kit would see them? They don’t. And I don’t.” She paused, then turned a softer look at him. A pit grew in his stomach. “I don’t assume Ella did, either.”</p>
<p>The pit tightened. “No,” he agreed. “I don’t remember her seeing them as well.”</p>
<p>Cecily patted his arm, the sleeve of her dress riding up to expose the edges of her marriage rune. “Lucie can see ghosts. So what? She won’t feel like an outsider in the family. You can see them and so can Jamie. There is nothing wrong with Lucie.”</p>
<p>“No,” he agreed immediately. “Nothing is wrong with Lucie.”</p>
<p>She smiled and nodded. “Lucie is part warlock. That may explain why she sees them. That is all, Will. I am sure.”</p>
<p>Will breathed. Cecily was right. Lucie <em>was</em> part warlock. That was all.</p>
<p>“Now,” Cecily said, straightening her skirts. “Can we eat? Or do you have another crisis scheduled this evening?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Shooting Stars (Gabriel Lightwood & Cecily Herondale)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Set in a Modern AU: A Gabrily Valentine's Day</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Cecily had forced herself to remain cool and collected.</p>
<p>She shouldn’t be surprised that Gabriel, whom she’d been dating for a few months now, had asked her to join him at the football team’s starlight picnic on Valentine’s Day. There was to be a meteor shower that night; a very unique and romantic night for valentine’s indeed. She may or may not have totally enjoyed arriving to campus the week before to find Gabriel waiting by her first class with a small bouquet of flowers and her morning coffee and asked her to be his valentine. And she may or may not have smiled like an idiot for the rest of the day.</p>
<p>But she most definitely found herself now struggling to keep her racing heart under control. She’d never had a valentine before. Will had always scared off the admirers she had when they were children, much to her annoyance. It was only when she finally became an adult, and joined him at university, that she made it a point to blatantly ignore his protests whenever she went on a date. Not that any of those dates mattered until Gabriel Lightwood came along.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to go, you know,” said Will across from her at the dining room table. She sighed inwardly. If only she hadn’t been forced to live with her brother at university. Her life would be so much simpler. “You can watch the shower with us instead. Much more enjoyable.”</p>
<p>Cecily gave her brother an annoyed look. “Why would I voluntarily subject myself to hanging out with the three of you on Valentine’s Day when I have a perfectly good boyfriend who has asked me to spend it with him?”</p>
<p>Will grumbled over his dinner. “I wouldn’t describe him as ‘perfectly good’—“</p>
<p>“Will,” Tessa sighed, holding her head as if his voice had given her a massive headache. Cecily was sure it had. “Leave her alone. Gabriel is a perfectly nice boy who is taking her to a <em>school</em> event. I hardly think this is grounds for you to be ridiculous.”</p>
<p>“Everything is grounds for me to be ridiculous,” countered Will.</p>
<p>“Save yourself,” added Jem, looking at Cecily. “Get out while you can.”</p>
<p>There was a knock on the door. Cecily shot out of her seat and grabbed her bag. “I will do just that, Jem,” she said and gave a cheeky grin to her brother, who squinted his eyes at her over his fork. “Don’t wait up for me!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>For the thousandth time that night, Gabriel made sure his hair was neat, there nothing in his teeth, and his clothes were acceptable.</p>
<p>He’d never had a valentine before, but he was excited for Cecily to be his. He was excited that she was his girlfriend at all. He was sure he had destroyed all his chances with his poorly developed flirting ability.</p>
<p>He blamed Gideon.</p>
<p>The door opened and Cecily stood in the light of the doorway. Gabriel’s breath went out of him. She was always incredibly beautiful, but it was obvious she had spent extra time on her look that evening. She smiled brightly at him. “Shall we go?”</p>
<p>Gabriel blinked himself back into the mortal plane. “We shall,” he answered, returning her smile. He held out his arm to her, like a proper gentleman. “You look particularly beautiful today,” he said. He had absolutely no idea where it came from.</p>
<p>Cecily closed the door behind her, effectively cutting off her brother in mid shout. Something about having her home early. “Do I not look particularly beautiful everyday?” she asked, a tease in her voice.</p>
<p>“I should just never speak again, shouldn’t I?”</p>
<p>“I rather enjoy it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The field was spotted with blankets and couples, flowers and chocolates, and quite a few bottles of cheap champagne. Gabriel had ordered Cecily’s favorite dish from the best restaurant in town and carefully tucked it away in the picnic basket Sophie lent him. He swore that his soon-to-be sister-in-law was much more help in the relationship department than his brother was.</p>
<p>He’d also gotten her a box of her favorite chocolates from a small shop in town, owned by the Branwells, who’d always smiled knowingly at him since the first time Cecily dragged him in, gushing about the treats. He’d become a regular patron after that.</p>
<p>Gabriel lifted everything out of the picnic basket and glanced up to find Cecily holding out a box wrapped neatly with a perfectly tied bow. He blinked at her several times until she laughed. “Well, are you going to open it or stare at me until my arms get tired?”</p>
<p>“You got me something?” he asked in awe. Cecily only laughed again.</p>
<p>“Of course I did. I am not a freeloading girlfriend, you know.”</p>
<p>Gabriel smiled brightly and took the box from her, eagerly opening it as if he was a child at Christmas. He froze once he realized what it was. “Cecily, you didn’t.”</p>
<p>She grinned. “Oh yes, I did.”</p>
<p>Gabriel lifted the brand new cleats out of the box, perfectly sized and exactly the ones he’d had his eye on for weeks. He’d never even mentioned to Cecily that he’d wanted to get a new pair, let alone this exact one. He gaped at her, his eyes flickering between her and the shoes. “How—“</p>
<p>“I am a fantastic girlfriend,” she stated, her eyes shining. “That is how.”</p>
<p>“Fantastic is an understatement!” He threw the box aside and immediately kicked his sneakers off to try on the cleats. He could hear Cecily laughing beside him as he hurried to tie the laces. “This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”</p>
<p>Cecily playfully shoved his arm. “Are you saying you didn’t like my Christmas present?”</p>
<p>Gabriel turned to her with a shy smile. “I was too nervous to tell you that I don’t like seafood.”</p>
<p>“Gabriel!” Cecily gasped. “Then why did you eat that whole plate?”</p>
<p>“Because you bought it for me.”</p>
<p>Cecily dropped her shoulders and smiled at him. “You’re sweet.”</p>
<p>Heat filled Gabriel’s face but the stupid grin on his face remained. “Now I feel silly with what I got you.”</p>
<p>Cecily looked down at the picnic, with their plates and chocolates and flowers neatly arranged. She looked back up at him. “If this is silly, then please, keep being silly.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, making the heat in his face grow warmer. “It’s romantic that you remembered my favorites and brought me to a starlight picnic to watch a meteor shower.”</p>
<p>Until he met Cecily, no one had ever called him a romantic before. He quite liked it, actually. And he found that he didn’t care if everyone else knew about it, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Look at this!” Will exclaimed, shoving his phone at Tessa and Jem. “I don’t want to see this!”</p>
<p>Tessa rolled her eyes. On his screen was his Instagram feed, of which the most recent post was from Cecily, smiling brightly at the camera while Gabriel kissed her forehead, captioned simply with a heart emoji. She thought it was rather sweet.</p>
<p>Jem had another idea. He turned his own phone toward Will, showing Gabriel’s post. It was of Cecily, surrounded by dinner, chocolates, and flowers, the same bright smile on her face as if she had been in mid laugh. It was a rather good picture of Cecily, indeed. Will scowled.</p>
<p>“This—This is why I don’t follow him!”</p>
<p>“’Isn’t she lovely,’” Jem quoted from the caption. Tessa awed.</p>
<p>“That’s so sweet!” She exclaimed.</p>
<p>Will’s scowl deepened. “I don’t want to see that either.”</p>
<p>“What?” Jem teased. “You don’t think your sister is lovely?”</p>
<p>Will huffed. “Of course she is,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I want to see <em>him</em> saying it. I may vomit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A dull roar of chatter settled across the football field. Cecily, after happily consuming every last drop of her plate and chocolates, made herself comfortable in Gabriel’s arms. She liked the feeling; his arms were long and well-muscled, engulfing her relatively small body in warmth and comfort. She was a strong, independent lady, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t allowed to enjoy a bit of cuddling.</p>
<p>She thought about how jealous she’d been of Will for the longest time, having not one but two people he could be with. They were kind to her, of course, but it was not the same as having someone like them for herself. She’d always been a romantic.</p>
<p>It was only an added bonus that being with Gabriel made Will short circuit.</p>
<p>“Do you believe in soulmates?” Cecily asked suddenly after a long but comforting silence.</p>
<p>Gabriel paused. “Do you?”</p>
<p>“Yes.” He lifted her head gently and slid his arm and a pillow underneath it before laying it back down. “Soulmates need not always be romantic. They can be platonic as well. Some people are lucky enough to find both in their lives. But I think the luckiest ones are the ones who find both in the same person.”</p>
<p>She bit her lip. She was definitely being obvious about her thoughts, but she hoped it wasn’t too forward. Gabriel brushed his thumb against her arm, which was reassuring. “I’ve never thought about it that way,” he answered. “Platonic soulmates, I mean. It makes sense, though. What made you believe?”</p>
<p>Cecily smiled gently toward the stars. “My parents. I’ve always believed in soulmates because of them.” A star shot across the sky, growing closer to the impending shower. “I don’t think anyone else on earth could have been better suited for them than each other.”</p>
<p>Gabriel’s chest rose and fell beneath her shoulder, his arm warm around her. “I admire your parents,” he said, vibrating her body with this voice; and not just because she was laying partially on top of him. “I guess I didn’t think I believed in soulmates until I met you.”</p>
<p>Cecily’s breath hitched in her throat. Of course she had <em>wanted</em> him to say that, but she didn’t expect that he would. “You’re only saying that,” she whispered.</p>
<p>“Am not,” he retorted. She could hear the smile in his voice. Cecily bit her lip again. A nervous habit. “So many things have changed in my life in the past year that have entirely changed my outlook on the world. It wasn’t easy to learn that my father had cheated on my mom before she died and still be open enough to believe in soulmates. But you…” His arm tightened around her. “I met you. And Gideon proposed to Sophie. And I met your parents.”</p>
<p>“Gideon is quite lucky to have Sophie,” said Cecily. “Sophie is a very lovely person.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Gabriel laughed. “That bastard better not screw it up.”</p>
<p>Cecily smiled and moved closer to him, pressing her body as close to him as she could get while they lay on their backs looking up at the sky. Gabriel shifted beneath her to pull her pillow closer. “Are you cold?” he asked her.</p>
<p>“Ella, Will, and I used to lay out in the fields in Wales and watch the stars at night,” Cecily whispered instead of answering him. Gabriel fell silent, but she knew very well he was listening. “We lived so far out in the country that the city lights never blocked out the stars. It was my favorite time; just the three of us.” A tear streaked down Cecily’s cheek involuntarily. “I haven’t watched the stars since she died.”</p>
<p>“Cecy—“</p>
<p>“I am glad to watch them again,” she continued. She felt around the picnic blanket until she found his hand and squeezed it tight. “With you.”</p>
<p>“She must have been an incredible person. You and your family only ever speak highly of her.”</p>
<p>Cecily nodded. “She was definitely much less of a pain in the ass than Will was.” She imagined her brother now, laying on the roof of their apartment building with Tessa and Jem, watching the same stars she was; both of them sharing the same memory of Ella. “No one will ever replace Ella for me, but I must admit it was nice to meet Tessa when Will first brought her home. She was kind to me. She even helped me prank Will the first holiday she was with us and helped me clean my bathroom when my period came early.” Gabriel’s hands engulfed hers and slowly played with her fingers as she spoke, calming her. “She knew that Will and I were close and made an effort to get to know me; I had forgotten what it felt like to have a sister. I am grateful to Tessa.”</p>
<p>“It seems that even Will is capable of making good decisions on occasion,” Gabriel commented, making Cecily laugh. He shifted again beneath her and suddenly Cecily was engulfed in a large blanket. She craned her neck upward to look at Gabriel, who was only smiling and rolling her into the blanket.</p>
<p>“Are you trying to make me into a burrito?” Cecily asked, an eyebrow raised.</p>
<p>“Of course not,” he answered, bringing his arms about her once more. “Obviously you are a taquito.”</p>
<p>Cecily called him a not-so-romantic name in Welsh, but her heart was happy. She <em>did</em> feel much warmer under the blanket with her head on his shoulder. She felt at peace. “I understand how you feel, though,” he added after a moment. “Granted, Tatiana is younger, but we were never truly close. And I lost my mother so young, I didn’t understand what having genuine affection was like. I thought all fathers were like mine. I only ever had him and Gideon show me how to be. Gideon was not the same person he is now before he studied abroad.”</p>
<p>“He changed,” Cecily whispered, digging her arm out from beneath the blankets to lay her hand over his heart. “As did you. There isn’t anything wrong with that.”</p>
<p>Gabriel looked down at her; his eyes, his green, green eyes making her heart skip a beat. “Spain and Sophie helped Gideon feel comfortable being his actual self. For me, it was Gideon and <em>you</em>.”</p>
<p>“I like this Gabriel,” she whispered, her eyes flickering between his eyes and his lips. “You’re happier. I like that.”</p>
<p>Gabriel inhaled deeply, his eyes never leaving hers. “I love you,” he breathed.</p>
<p>Cecily’s heart raced, her eyes widening. She’d imagined him saying those words to her in the privacy and comfort of her own mind. She’d known, perhaps all along, that she loved him. He made her feel special, beautiful, and strong. He never once made her feel inferior or small—his jokes about her height excluded. Being with him made the rough seas of her life calm. She was <em>happy</em>. She loved him.</p>
<p>And he just told her he loved her.</p>
<p>He had begun to grow nervous at her silence, clearing his throat in attempt to clear the tension. <em>Tell him you love him, idiot!</em> Cecily screamed at herself, but her throat had closed, thick with emotion. She did what she needed to do. She pulled his head down to her and kissed him.</p>
<p>There was no hesitation from him in his response. He kissed her back, his hands pressed gently against her back, holding her to him. Cecily hadn’t even noticed she was crying until their kiss began to taste salty and Gabriel pulled away, his forehead still pressed against hers. “Cecy?” he asked, worried. “I’m—“</p>
<p>“I love you,” she said, cutting him off before he could apologize to her for doing nothing wrong. He stared at her. “I love you, too.”</p>
<p>A brilliant smile grew across his face, erasing his anxious expression. He released a long breath and laughed. “Oh, god, I thought I had scared you off. It came out of me, I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you for so long—“</p>
<p>Cecily shook her head. “Do stop apologizing for telling me you love me,” she teased. “I’ll start to believe you regret it.”</p>
<p>Gabriel’s eyes widened, the panic back. “No!” he said quickly. “No, I don’t regret it! Not one bit. I do love you. I love you. A lot, actually.”</p>
<p>She buried her face against his neck and ran her fingers through his ever-tousled hair. “Then don’t let me go,” she whispered. His grip tightened.</p>
<p>“I don’t plan on it,” he said.</p>
<p>A wave of awes and cheers rose from the crowd around them on the field. The meteor shower had begun, lighting up the sky. Cecily kept her eyes locked with Gabriel’s. He smiled at her. “I do hope this means your sister approves of me.”</p>
<p>Cecily laughed, the pain of missing Ella and the joy that she had Gabriel in her life to share her thoughts. She turned to look at the stars. “You know, I think she just might.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The porch light was bright when Gabriel walked Cecily to the door of her and Will’s apartment. She was draped in his jacket, despite her protests. “You’re smaller. Less mass. You get colder than I do,” had been Gabriel’s response. She was stubborn, but he could be too. Even now he was refusing to take it back. Secretly, Cecily was glad.</p>
<p>“I had fun,” she told him, smiling happily. “This was a very nice Valentine’s Day.”</p>
<p>Gabriel looked relieved. “I had fun, too.” He hesitated then, which told Cecily exactly what he wanted to do.</p>
<p>“Kiss me,” she said, not as a request but a stern demand. Gabriel’s smile morphed into a small laugh.</p>
<p>“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded and dipped low. The moment his lips met hers, the porch light began flickering.</p>
<p>Cecily ignored it but Gabriel pulled back, amused. “I wager we have peeping Toms.”</p>
<p>“More like a single peeping Will,” she muttered. She lifted her hand toward the door and flipped off her brother. “I suppose I should see you off now, before Will comes out here with empty threats.”</p>
<p>Gabriel laughed. “All right,” he said. “I’ll leave when you’re inside.”</p>
<p>“The door is two feet away.”</p>
<p>“It will make me feel better,” he answered assuredly. “Please indulge my masculinity.”</p>
<p>Cecily would never admit it, but her heart fluttered. She knew Gabriel didn’t care much for keeping masculine appearances anymore, but it set butterflies in her stomach to know he wanted to make sure she was truly home before leaving. Her father would like that.</p>
<p>“All right,” she agreed. She pressed her key into the lock and turned it, but paused before opening the door. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Goodnight,” she said. “Do tell me when you’re home.”</p>
<p>His eyes brightened. “I will,” he said. “Goodnight, Cecy.”</p>
<p>The door swung open and Cecily yelped. She was yanked in the doorway before she could swear. “Take care then!” her brother called before shutting the door. Cecily twisted her arm out of his grip before unleashing a sea of curses and swears at him, a mix of English and Welsh, all angry and annoyed.</p>
<p>“Can I not have my own life, Will?” she shouted. “You parade Tessa and Jem around here as if they live here but I can’t even wish Gabriel a goodnight on the porch without you ruining it?” She turned to Tessa and Jem, who remained seated at the kitchen table. “No offense.”</p>
<p>“None taken,” they both replied, lifting their mugs to their lips.</p>
<p>She turned back to Will, who looked a bit surprised. “Mam and Dad like Gabriel, and Ella would have, too. What is your problem? Gabriel has tried to make amends with you and treats me well. Better than well, actually. Not once has he /ever/ made me feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Quite the opposite actually. You’re lucky Mam and Dad help us pay rent because otherwise I would have never moved in with you.”</p>
<p>At that, she threw her keys onto the counter and marched to her bedroom. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of slamming her door, so instead she left it wide open.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fifteen minutes later, she received her text from Gabriel assuring her he was home, safe and sound, being interrogated by his brother and Sophie. She smiled at her phone. She thought about telling him about her blow up at Will when a soft knock sounded at the door. She glanced up to see Tessa standing there, holding her mug, smiling gently. “May I come in?”</p>
<p>Cecily nodded, shooting Gabriel a quick<em> I love you</em> before tossing her phone to the side. She hoped she’d wake to a similar message in the morning.</p>
<p>Tessa came and sat beside her on the bed. “I’m sorry about Will,” she started. “We tried to convince him to to go bed earlier but he refused.”</p>
<p>“Thanks for trying,” Cecily grumbled, kicking her blanket with her feet.</p>
<p>Tessa set down her mug and turned to face Cecily. “I am not Will,” she said happily. “And I, for one, would love to hear how the picnic went. Did you enjoy it?”</p>
<p>Cecily turned to her and released the tension in her muscles. Tessa really was like a sister. “I did,” she said, a smile growing. “It was everything I’d hoped it would be.”</p>
<p>Tessa’s eyes widened. “I see that smile,” she said, bouncing. “Tell me, Cecily, or I swear I will force it out of you!”</p>
<p>“Shh!” Cecily hissed, glancing at the doorway. “The last thing I need or want is my brother barging in here demanding to know as well.”</p>
<p>Tessa nodded, but her smile and eyes were eager. “Tell me.”</p>
<p>Cecily bit her lip, supressing an idiot smile. “He told me he loves me.”</p>
<p>Tessa grabbed a pillow and began smacking Cecily with it, whispering-screaming in excitement. “Cecy!” <em>Whack</em>. “I’m so—“ <em>Whack</em>. “—happy for you!”</p>
<p>“Wait,” Cecily said, and Tessa paused, holding the pillow in mid-whack. “There’s more. I told him I love him, too.”</p>
<p><em>WHACK</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><br/><br/>Gabriel waltzed through the front door feeling on top of the world. The moment the door shut, Gideon and Sophie’s heads popped up over the sofa. “How did it go?” Sophie asked eagerly.</p>
<p>“Did you tell her?” Gideon added.</p>
<p>Gabriel grinned. “Yes, I told her. And she said it back.”</p>
<p>Sophie screamed and jumped over the couch, crushing Gabriel in a hug. “Look at you! A new man in love!”</p>
<p>Gideon smiled at him, amused. “Proud of you,” he said. “Didn’t think you had the guts to actually do it.”</p>
<p>“Thank you for your faith in me, brother,” Gabriel answered. “At least Sophie believed in me.”</p>
<p>Sophie let go of him and nodded, smiling happily at him. She’d always been quite supportive of him ever since he apologized to her for being an ass for so long. “Well, I knew that you would tell her intentionally or not. The two of you are much alike.”</p>
<p>Gabriel and Gideon both protested this statement. Then, Gabriel remembered. “Shit,” he said under his breath, digging his phone out. “I promised her I’d tell her when I got home.”</p>
<p>Gideon pointed at him accusingly. “You’re whipped!”</p>
<p>“And you’re engaged,” Gabriel retorted, retreating to his bedroom, his eyes glued to the screen, typing his message to Cecily.</p>
<p>Ding.</p>
<p><em>I love you</em>, she replied.</p>
<p>Gabriel immediately updated his phone screen to the new photo of her he’d taken that night and stared at it before writing out his response.</p>
<p>
  <em>Gideon told me I’m whipped. He isn’t wrong. Goodnight, Cecy. I love you.</em>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Lines (Gabrily & Kids)</h2></a>
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    <p>“Kit?” Cecily called, venturing throughout her family’s new townhome in Alicante. She knew her son was struggling to adjust to the move and often found him in creative hiding places all throughout the home. After recovering from worry, Cecily found herself admiring his knack for discovering so many places to hide. “Fy bach, where are you?”</p><p>“Hi Mam,” came a small voice above her. Cecily startled and looked upward to find Christopher sitting between a gap in the rafters. He looked calm. He was dressed in his play clothes—a simple white shirt and brown trouser shorts—though they somehow managed to become covered in various stains throughout the day.</p><p>Cecily held her hand to her heart, willing it to slow its beat. “Oh, Kit,” she breathed. “How on earth did you get yourself in there?”</p><p>Christopher looked around and then back at his mother. “I don’t know,” he offered sweetly. “I was following the lines and I got here.”</p><p>“The lines?” Cecily wondered, but she was already busy making her way toward him. She knew Gabriel and Anna were on their own mission searching for Kit and hoped they’d come around soon; she would definitely need help bringing him down.</p><p>Kit waited patiently. “The lines help me walk,” he explained, swinging his small legs over the beams. “They show me where to go.”</p><p>“They show you where to go?” Cecily asked. She pulled herself up beside him where her arms rested on the beam he sat on, her feet firmly planted against the wall behind her. Without her exceptional core strength, she didn’t think she would have been able to reach her son at all. “What do you mean?”</p><p>Christopher pointed to the far end of the hall. “I can’t see far away,” he said. “But the lines on the flow show me where to go. I follow the lines to go where I want to go.”</p><p>“Kit!” Her husband’s voice echoed in the hall, the rest of his person appearing shortly after, his face full of relief. Like Cecily, Gabriel wasn’t the least bit surprised to find their son in a strange place. “Goodness, how did you get up there?”</p><p>“Never mind that,” Cecily grunted, moving her hands to Christopher’s sides. “Can you catch him?”</p><p>Gabriel nodded and moved to stand below them, his arms out and ready to cushion his son’s fall. Anna stood snickering at the end of the hall, obviously finding Christopher’s newest hiding place amusing. “Go to your dad, all right?” she told Kit, who nodded. “He will catch you.”</p><p>At that, she gently lifted Christopher off the beam and dropped him below into his father’s arms. Gabriel caught him easily and hugged him close. Kit wasn’t concerned. Cecily clamored back down to the ground and approached them, planting a firm kiss on Kit’s head. “Anna,” she called, and her daughter appeared at their feet. “Will you take your brother to the kitchen and give him a pear to eat? Dinner will be ready soon but he’s been up there so long he must want a snack.”<br/>
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Anna sighed and nodded. Gabriel placed Christopher on the ground, where Anna took his hand and marched him toward the kitchen with great authority. Gabriel turned back to Cecily with a concerned expression. “What’s wrong?” he said. “I know that look. Tell me.”</p><p>“Christopher told me he can’t see far,” she said softly, looking up at her husband. She bit her lip in thought as Gabriel’s eyebrows furrowed. “He said he follows the lines to know where he’s going. I think he needs spectacles.”</p><p>Gabriel appeared thoughtful. “It does sound that way,” he agreed. He sighed and brought her into his arms for a sweet hug—Cecily’s favorites. “Let’s take him to see the Brother’s tomorrow. If he needs spectacles, then we’ll get him some. I’m sure he’d love to pick out his own.”</p><p>Cecily nodded, her face rubbing along the smooth threading of his jacket. “It’s something new every day, isn’t it?” she wondered aloud.</p><p>Gabriel laughed. “Well, they are your children. They inherited your knack for keeping life exciting.”</p>
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